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L  I  E>  RARY 

OF   THE 

U  N  I  VERSITY 

or    1  LLI  NOIS 


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HISTORY 


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EHDITEID  BY  AAriLLI^3^d:  ."EiElNrR.'ir  I=EI^I?.I2Sr. 


mLX!JSTrFi5\^KID. 


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CHICAGO: 
BASKIN    ct    CO.,    HISTORICAL    PUBLt8HKR8, 

LAKESIDE  BUILDING. 

1883. 


A, 


PREFACE. 


THE  history  of  Crawford  aucl  Clark  Counties,  after  months  of  persistent  toil  and  research,  is 
now  completed,  and  it  is  believed  that  no  subject  of  universal  public  importance  or  inter- 
est has  been  omitted,  save  where  protracted  effort  failed  to  secure  reliable  results.  We  are  well 
aware  of  our  inability  to  furnish  a  perfect  history  from  meager  public  documents  and  number- 
less conflicting  traditions,  but  claim  to  have  prepared  a  work  fully  up  to  the  standard  of  our 
promises.  Through  the  courtesy  and  assistance  generously  afforded  by  the  residents  of  these 
counties,  we  have  been  enabled  to  trace  out  and  put  on  record  the  greater  portion  of  the  impor- 
tant events  that  have  transpired  in  Crawford  and  Clark  Counties  up  to  the  present  time.  And 
we  feel  assured  that  all  thoughtful  people  in  these  counties,  mw  and  in  future,  will  recognize 
and  appreciate  the  importance  of  the  work  and  its  permanent  value. 

A  dry  statement  of  facts  has,  as  far  as  possible,  been  avoided,  and  incidents  and  anecdotes 
have  been  woven  in  with  facts  and  statistics,  forming  a  narrative  at  once  instructive  and  interest- 
ing. 

We  are  indebted  to  Hon.  E.  Callahan  for  the  chapter  on  the  -  Bench  and  Bar'  of  Crawford 
County  ;  to  Cxeorge  W.  Harper,  Esq.,  for  a  sketch  of  "  the  pre^"  and  to  Hon.  W.  C.  Wilson  for 
valuable  and  important  historical  data ;  also  to  Hamilton  Sutton,  Esq.,  for  his  very  able  general 
history  of  Clark  County ;  to  H.  C.  Bradsby,  Esq.,  for  the  chapter  on  the  ''  Bench  and  Bar"  of 
Clark,  and  to  many  other  citizens  of  both  counties  for  material  aid  to  our  historians  in  making 
the  proper  compilation  of  facts  embodied  in  tiie  work. 

April,  1883.  ,  THE  PUBLISHERS. 


233623 


CONTENTS 


PART  I. 

HISTORICAL. 

CRAWFORD     COtTNTY. 

I'AOE. 

CHAPTf^R  I.— Introductory — Descriptive— Boundaries  and 
Topography— The  Science  of  Geology— Its  Influence  on 
Agriculture  and  Civilization— Geology  of  Crawford 
County— The  Coal  Measures— Outcrops' of  Coal— Build- 
ing Stone— Its  Quality  and  Durability— Iron  Ore — Soils, 
Timber,  etc.,  etc 11 

CHAPTER  II.— Pre-historic  Occupation  of  the  Country- 
The  Mound  Builders— Relics  and  Works  of  the  Lost 
Race— The  Meroui  Mounds — Earthworks  and  Mounds 
at  Ilutsonville— other  Relics,  etc.— The  Indians— l)ela- 
wares  and  Kickapoos— Their  Position  of  Southern  Illi- 
nois—Historical Sketches  of  their  Tribes,  etc.— Local 
Facts  and  Traditions 18 

CHAPTKIE  III.— Settlement  of  the  County  by  White  Peo- 
ple—The Early  French  Explorers— Their  Claim  to  Illi- 
nois—Gen. Clark's  Expedition  to  Kaskaskia— Emigrants 
from  the  States— Fort  Lamotte  and  the  Rangers- The 
Culloms  and  Other  Pioneers— The  Hutson  Family — 
Their  Murder  by  Indians— Pioneer  Life — Hardships 
and  Dangers  of  the  AVilderness,  etc 29 

CHAPTER  IV. — Organization  of  tlie  County — Illin<iis  a.-*  a 
Part  of  Virginia— Divided  Into  Counties— Act  of  the 
IvCgislature  Forming  Crawford — Name  of  the  County — 
The  Courts,  etc.— Locating  the  Seat  of  Justice— An  In- 
dian Trial— Other  Court  Proceedings— List  of  (ttficers 
and  Representatives— Court  Houses  and  Jails— Civil 
Divisions  of  the  County— Removal  of  the  County  Seat 
— Township  Organizations,  etc.,  etc .' 37 

CHAPTER  v.— The  Bench  and  Bar— Justice  and  Her  Scales 
—First  Courts  and  What  They  Did — Some  of  the  Early 
Judges— Different  Judicial  Di.-«triets— The  First  Resi- 
dent Lawyers— Kitchell,  Janney,  French,  etc.— Their 
Legal  Ability  and  Social  Traits— Other  Lawyers  of  the 
Couniy— The  Present  Bar,  etc.,  etc 54 

CHAPTER  VI.— Internal  Iraprovemeuts— The  First  Roads 
and  Mridges — Railroads — Coming  of  the  Iron  Horse — 
The  Old  Wabash  Valley  Route— Paris  and  Danville— Its 
Completion,  Changes  and  Condition — East  and  West 
Railroad  Projects— The  Narrow  <^iauge — Value  and 
Economy  of  the  System— Other  Roads  That  Were  Never 
Built,  and  Never  Will  Be,  etc.,  etc 66 

CHAPTER  VII.— The  "  Raging"  Wabash- Improvement  of 
its  Navigation — Boating  in  the  I-^arly  Times — Overflows, 
I.*vees,  etc. — Damage  Done  to  the  Farmers— Agriculture 
— Early  Mode  of  Opening  and  Cultivating  Farms — Pio- 
neer Plows  and  Hoes— Crawford  County  Agricultural 
Society— Incorporation  and  List  of  (itficers— Horticult- 
ure— The  County  Poor,  etc.,  etc 7;! 

CHAPTER  Vin.— The  County  Press— Its  Influence  in  the 
Community — Newspaper  Enterprises  of  Crawford  County 
— The  Constitution  and  Argus — Educational — Pioneer 
Schoolhouses  and  Teachers— Advantages  of  Education 
— Scliool  Statistics — Religious  History — Early  Preachers 
— Churches  Oru'anized,  etc-.,  etc 79 


f 


PAGE. 

CHAPTER  IX.— War  History— The  Struggle  for  Independ- 
ence—Our Second  "Round"  with  John  Bull— Black 
Hawk  and  his  Braves,  and  How  We  Thrashed  Them— 
The  Mexican  War — Illinois'  Participation  In  It— War 
of  the  Rebellion — DitJerent  Regiments  in  which  Craw- 
ford County  was  Represented— Facts  and  Incidents  of 
the  War,  etc.,  etc 91 

CHAPTER  X.— Robinson  Township—Description  and  To- 
pography-General Character  of  the  Countrv— Land 
Entries— Advent  ^of  the  Whites— Time  and  Place  of 
Settlement— Early  Society— The  Beginning  of  Agricult- 
ure—Pioneer Industries  and  Improvements- Early 
Markets,  etc.,  etc li)7 

CHAPTER  XL— Robinson  Villag^-The  Star  of  Empire— A 
New  Town  Laid  Out— First  Plat  and  Subsequent  Addi- 
tions—I-larly  Development— Growth  of  liusiness  Inter- 
ests—The Railroad  Impetus— Schools,  Churches  and 
Benevolent  Societies— Cemeteries,  etc.,  etc ug 

CHAPTER  XII.— La  Motte  Township— General  Description 
and  Topography  —  Early  Settlement— Joseph  La  Motte 
— The  Eatons — Other  Pioneers — Tho  Seven  Jesses — Ex- 
tract from  I'icklin's  Address— Schools  and  Churches — 
Palestine — Its  Growth,  Development  aud  Incoi-poration 
— The  Land  Otfice — Registers  and  Receivers — Education- 
al, Religious,  etc.,  etc 127 

CHAPTER  XUL  — Ilutsonville  Township  — Topographv— 
Early  Settlement— Hutson  Family— Tne  Barlows.  New- 
lins  aud  Hills— i  )ther  Pioneers— Early  Trials  and  Troub- 
les— Schools  and  Churches — Village  of  Hutsonville— Its 
Situation  as  a  Trading  Point— Some  of  the  Merchants 
and  Business  Men- Fire,  AVater,  etc.,  etc 146 

CHAPTER  XIV.— Licking  Township— Description,  Bounda- 
ries and  Topography —Early  Settlement- Pioneer  Im- 
provements ami  Industries  —  Villages— Early  Schools, 
etc — Churchei  aud  Church  Buildings KJO 

CHAPTER  XV.— Oblong  Township  — Physical  Features- 
Soil  and  Productions — The  Coming  of  the  Pioneers— De- 
velopment of  the  Country— Early  Industries— Roads  and 
Mil'.s— Village  of  Oblong  —  Church  History  —  Early 
Schools — Patrons  of  Husbandry I7;i 

CHAPTER  XVI.— Montgomery  Township — Physical  Feat- 
ures, Boundaries,  etc— Early  Settlers  and  Where  They 
Came  From— The  Hurricane — Frontier  Industries— A 
Race  for  the  Bottle  and  its  Rl'suUs— The  Poisoning  of 
Reed— Villages— Religious  and  Educational 18:^ 

CHAi'Ti:i:  XVII.— Martin  and  Southwest  Townships— Posi- 
tion and  I'.oundaries — Formation  of  Southwest — Water 
Courses  —  Soil—  Productions  —  Timbi-r- Pioneer  Settle- 
ment—Early Incidents  and  Industries— Life  in  the  Wil- 
derness—Early Roads— Church  and  School  History— Vil- 
lages, etc.,  etc i9:j 

CHAPTER  XVIIL— Honey  Creek  Township— Description 
and  Topography— Advent  of  the  Pale-Faces,  and  their 
Early  Struggles— Pioneer  Improvementc— Religious  His- 
tory— An  Incident — Schools  and  Schoolhouses — Villages 
—Parting  Word-*,  etc.,  etc 202 


CONTENTS. 


PAKT   II. 

iLARK     CO U STY. 

PAGE. 

CHAPTER  I— i;eneral  Descriptiou  of  Clark  County— To- 
poeraphy  and  Physical  Features— licology— Coal  MeaB- 
ur|,_The  Storv  'of  the  Rocks— BuUding  Stone— Soils, 
Timber  and  Productions— Artesian  Well— The  Mound 
Builders  and  Their  Works— Indian  Relics,  etc.,  etc 210 

CHAPTER  II.— Early  Settlements— The  Pioneers  and 
Where  They  Came  From— Their  Hard  Life,  Rude 
Dwellings  and  Coarse  Clothins— Incident  of  a  Biscuit- 
Salt— Ne(;ro  Slavery- An  Exciting  Campaign— tol. 
\rcher—(i.ame—"  Marks"  and  "  lirands  "—Taxation^ 
The  Indians— Shooting  Matches— ICarly  Society— ( 'hm- 
tianity  and  Pioneer  Preachers— Intemperance— The 
Climate,  etc.,  etc. -" 

CHAPTER  in.— Organization  of  the  County— The  Legisla- 
tive .'Vet  Creating  It— Location  of  the  Seat  of  .Tustlee— 
The  Courts— .\urora  and  Darwin— Removal  to  Marshall 
—Bitter  contests— The  Question  Finally  Settled— Di- 
vision of  the  County  into  Precincts— English  Tithmgs 
—Township  Organization— Benefit  of  the  System,  ete....  2ib 

CHAPTER  IV.— Clark's  First  Courts  and  Administration 
of  .lustice— An  Incident  of  Flogging- How  a  Sheriff 
\djourued  Court^OBieers  and  Their  Pay— War  His- 
tory—Early Military  Forces  of  the  County— Black 
Hawk— Mexican  War— The  Rebellion— Part  Taken  lu 


Hawk- 
it  by  Clark,  etc.,  etc.. 


2.52 


CHAPTER  V.—Edueatioual— First  Steps  Toward  Knowl- 
edge-School Lauds  and  the  Fund  Derived  From  Them 
—The  Duncan  School  Law— Taxes  for  IJUieational  Pur- 
poses-Changes of  the  School  Laws— First  Schools  of 
the  County- Early  Temples  of  Le.arning  and  Pioneer 
Teachers— Academies  and  Colleges— Statistics,  etc.,  etc..  26o 

CHAPTER  VI.— Internal  Improveinents— The  Old  National 
Road— How  it  w;is  Built- Railroads— Their  .Appearance 
in  Clark— Building  of  the  Van.lalia  Road— Wabash  and 
Other  Railroad  Projects- Conclusion,  etc.,  etc 273 

CHAPTER  VII.— Bench  and  Bar— The  Early  Comers  and 
Who  They  Were — .Some  Comments  on  the  Profession- 
First  Lawyers— Biographies  and  Character  Sketches- 
Anecdotes  of  Fickliu  and  Linder— Other  Legal  liumina- 
ries,  etc '-'" 

CHAPTER  VIII.— .^farshall  Township— Introductijn-To- 
pography— -4n  Illinois  Barren— Primitive  Attractions- 
Early  Land  Entries— Origin  of  the  Village— Pioneer  In- 
dustries and  Improvements-Early  Society,  etc.,  ete 29.'! 

CHAPTElt  IX.— The  City  of  Marshall— The  Pltlt  and  Sub- 
sequent Additions— OrRcial  Organization  and  Progress- 
Internal  Improvements— Business  Growth— Newspapers 
—Schools  and  Churches— Secret  and  Benevolent  Orders, 
etc.,  ete -^5 

CHAPTER  X.— York  Township  — Topographical- Union 
Prairie— The  Pioneer  Settlement  of  Clark  County— Early 
Life  on  the  Wahash— Boating— York  Village— Its  Growth 
and  Development— The  Rise  of  Church  and  School,  etc..  3.30 

CHAPTER  XL— Darwin  Township- Description  and  Topog- 
raphy—Walnut Prairie- First  Step  Toward  Civilization 
—Work  and  Play  in  a  New  Country— Sterliug-.iurora 
and  Darwin — County  Seats — Religious,  Educational,  etc.  347 

CHAPTER  XII.— Casey  Township  — Boundaries-General 
Topography— Soil  —  Streams  —  Early  Settlement— Inci- 
dents—Vigilance  Committee— Pioneer  Life— Condition 
of  the  Country— Indians— Mills— Village  of  Cumberland 
— Village  f.f  Casey — Secret  Societies— School  History- 
Religious,  etc.,  etc S$3 

CHAPTER    XIII.—  Westfield   Township  —  Topographical 

Features— Early  Immigration— Soci.al  Characteristics- 
Growth  and  Development  of  Settlement— Richmond— 
Westfield  Village— Its  Rise  and  Progress— The  College- 
Churches,  Ministers  and  Schools 377 


PAGE. 

CH,\PTER  XIV.  — Wabash  Township  —  Configuration, 
Boundaries,  etc.— Early  Settlement— Pioneer  Society— 
.Amusements— Indians— Improvements  and  Industries 
—Villages— Churches  and  Schools,  etc.,  etc 394 

CHAPTER  XV.— Martinsville  Township— Topography- 
Soil  and  Timber— Pioneer  Settlement— National  Road- 
Early  Hotels— Incidents— Indians— Village  of  Martins- 
ville—Its  (;rowth  and  Development— Mills— Secret  So- 
cieties—Schools-Churches 403 

CHAPTER  XVI.  — Dolson  Township  —  Topography  and 
Physical  Features— The  Coming  of  the  Pioneers— Char- 
acter of  the  People— Mills,  Roads  and  Other  Improve- 
ments—Schools, Churches,  etc.— Village  of^Clarksville, 
etc *" 

CHAPTER  XVII.— Anderson  Township — The  Lay  of  the 
Land— Original  Entries— Early  Settlement— The  Birch 
Family— Schools  and  Churches 425 

CII.APTER  XVIIL— Orange  Township— Position— Topog- 
raphy—Soil  and  Productions— Pioneer  Settlement— In- 
cidents—Early  Condition  of  Country— Pioneer  Dwell- 
ings—First Birth- First  Marriage— Early  Schools  — 
Church  History ^^^ 

CHAPTER  XIX.— Melrose  Township— Surface  Character- 
istics-Timber, Growth,  .Soils,  etc  —  First  Settlement 
— Baekwood  Experiences— Pioneer  Industries— Churches 
and  Schools ; -139 

CHAPTER  XX.— .Johnson  Township— Location  and  Bound- 
aries—Topouraphv-Pioueer  Settlement— Early  Mills- 
First  Birth,  Marriage,  Death— Schools— Church  History  448 

CHAPTER  XXI —ParkerTownship— Surface  Features- The 
First  Settlers— Pioneer  Industries  and  Improvements- 
Churches  and  Preachers— Educational  Facilities,  etc 454 

CH.APTER  -XXIL- Auburn  Township— "E  Pluribus  Unum" 
—Its  Pioneers  and  Organization— The  "Emperor"  of 
.Auburn— Early  Expectations— .Auburn  Village— Church 
and  .«chooI *^^^ 

CHAPTER  XXIII.— Douglas  Township— C.eogr.aphioal  Po- 
sition —  Settlement  by  the  Whites— Improvements  — 
Distilleries,  Mills  and  Roads— Schools,  Sehoolhouses, 
Churches,  etc.- Village  of  Castle  Finn 46o 

PART  III. 
BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 

CLARK    COUNTY. 

Mai-shall  Township ^ 

Wabash  Township 2, 

Casey  Township '7 

Martinsville  Township 1"* 

Johnson  Township Jji 

ParkerTownship ]*" 

Westfield  Township }»* 

Darwin  Township J°" 

York  Township J'" 

Melrose  Township '™ 

Auburn  Township f^ 

Douglas  Township...., 5"° 

Dolson  Township -'" 

Orange  Township f-^ 

Anderson  Township ■ •• ; ■..■ :•■  -" 

Additional   Sketches— Received   too   late  tor  insertion  m 
proper  place -^° 

PABT  IV. 

BIOGR.APHIC.AL  SKETCHES. 

CRAWFORD    COVNTY. 

Robinson  Township 225 

Hutsonville Township 260 

La  Motte  Township ^95 

Montgomery  Townsjiip J'-° 

Oblong  Township ^^^ 

Martin  and  Southwest  Township 3o7 

Honey  Creek  Township "^8 

Licking  Township '•^'^ 


CONTEXTS. 


PonXRAlTS. 

PAfiE. 

Archer,  W.  I! 225 

Bishop,  Kzekiel ■W 

Hraabiiry,  J.  s 243 

Hradlev,  R.  II 261 

Callahan,  E 03 

Cox,l!ryant. 189 

Crews,  W.  .T 2"9 

Praper,  \V.  L ]ȣ 

I'irebaugh,  I.L ■Jl'' 

Fox,  .lohn 333 

C.oldell,  J.  .7 *'l 

Harlan,  .1 3G9 

Harlan,  Lucinda •'•'*' 


PAGE. 

Harper,  G.  W 81 

Hill,  Doctor 405 

Hippard,  (i 423 

Hurst,  John  R 153 

Jones,  William  C 99 

Reavill,  Andrew  J 441 

Euddell,  Martha 459 

Steel,  James  II U7 

Sweariugcn,  S.  G .    27 

Talbott,  John 171 

Tavlor,  Henry Part  HI.    17 

Wilson,  W.  C 207 

Woodworth,  A.  P Part  IV.  23S 

Woodworth,  J.  S 13S 


I 


PART    I. 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


CHAPTEE  I* 

INTRODUCTORY-DESCRIPTIVE— BOUNDARIES  AND  TOPOGRAPHY— THE  SCIENCE  OF  GEOL- 
OGY—ITS INFLUENCE  ON  AGRICULTURE  AND  CIVILIZATION— GKOLOGY  OF 
CRAWFORD   COUNTY-THE  COAL    MEASURES-OUTCROPS    OF 
COAL-BUILDING  STONE-I'l'S  QUALITY  AND  DURABIL- 
ITY—IRON ORE— SOILS,  TIMBER,  ETC.,  ETC. 


"  If  the  events  of  the  past  are  buried  in  the  waste 
of  ages,  there  are  no  landmarlis  by  which  to  trace  the 
track  of  tim",  and  no  means  of  understanding  the 
influences  which  have  molded  human  destiny.'' — 
Diclcey. 

THE  earliest  records  of  humanity  are  found 
in  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  and  for  that  rea- 
son have  a  strong  claim  on  our  diligent  study. 
Next  to  inspired  history,  our  own  town,  our 
own  county,  our  own  State,  and  our  own  com- 
mon country,  and  the  deeds  of  our  forefathers, 
who  first. settled  and  improved  the  land  we 
call  our  own,  should  receive  our  notice.  The 
history  of  our  age  and  our  locality  comes 
home  to  us  personally.  Commonplace  as  it 
may  seem  to  us  now,  in  the  ages  to  come  it 
will  help  to  make  up  a  whole;  increasing  in 
interest  as  time   reels  off  the  centuries,  one 

*By  W.  H.  Perrln. 


after  another.  It  is  the  actions  and  deeds  of 
the  citizen  which  speak  through  some  repre- 
sentative whose  talent  for  becoming  their  ad- 
vocate has  given  him  a  fame  justly  to  be 
shared  by  his  cotemporaries,  and  of  these, 
county  history  is  to  speak.  They  constitute 
the  delicate  tracery  and  details  of  the  historic 
landscape  destined  some  day  to  be  as  grand 
as  it  is  distant.  Just  as  the  setting  sun  bathes 
every  object  he  leaves  behind  with  a  fresher 
beauty,  and  more  attractive  interest,  so  in- 
scribing upon  the  historic  page  glowing  views 
of  past  scenes,  affords  a  richer  enjoyment  than 
when  those  scenes  were  enacted.  This  power 
of  reproduction  compensates  for  the  flight  of 
time  and  the  decay  of  the  physical  powers. 
In  the  annals  of  a  community,  fathers  being 
dead,  yet  speak,  and  the  old  man  still  living 
loves  to  rehearse  the  scenes  of  his  early  days. 
To  preserve  from  oblivion  the  scenes  and  the 


12 


HISTORY   OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


facts  and  incidents  which  have  transpired  in 
this  secti.jii  of  the  country,  is  the  object  of 
this  volume. 

Not   long    ago,    comparatively,    as    to    the 
woikl's  chronology,  this   vast   domain,  which 
Columbus  promised  to  give  to  his  king,  was 
an  unbroken  wilderness,  the  undisputed  home 
and  hunting-ground  of  savage  men.     Of  this 
promised  land  Crawford  County  comprises  but 
a  small  and  inslgnillcant  portion,  and  its  his- 
tory, since  the  advent  of  the  pale-face  pioneer, 
is  brief  and  soon  told.     But  there  is  a  page 
which  comes  before  this,  and  like  the  prologue 
to  a  drama  should  be  recited  first.     It  is  a 
page  which  treats  of  a  science  that  traces  the 
history  of  the  earth  back  through  successive 
stages  of  development  to  its  rudlmental  con- 
dition in  a  state  of  fusion.     The  history  of  any 
country  properly   begins   with  its  geological 
formations,  for  it  is  upon  them  that  it  depejids 
for  the   pursuits   of    its   inhabitants   and  the 
genius  of  its  civilization.     Phases  of  life  and 
modes  of  thought  are  induced  by  them,  which 
give  to  different  communities  and  States  char- 
acters as  various  as  the  diverse  rocks  that  un- 
derlie them.     It  is  no  less  true  that  the  moral 
and  intellectual  qualities  of  man  depend  on 
material  conditions.     For  instance,  where  the 
soil  and  subjacent  rocks  are  profuse  in  the 
bestowal  of  wealth,  man  is  indolent  and  eifem- 
inate;  where  elfort  is  required  to  live  he  be- 
comes  enlightened  and   virtuous;  and   when 
on  the  sands  of  the  desert  labor  is  unable  to 
procure  the   necessaries  and  comforts    of  life 
he  lives  a  savage. 

"  Fifty  years  ago,"  says  a  writer  on  the  sub- 
ject, "  no  popular  belief  was  more  fixed  than 
that  the  work  of  creation  was  accomplished  in 
six  days,  each  occupying  twenty- four  hours. 
Geologists,  however,  in  investigating  the 
structure  of  the  earth,  saw  that,  to  account 
for  all  the  mutations  which  it  has  undergone 
required  the  lapse  of  an   indefinite  period  of 


time,  stretching  back  so  far  remote  as  to  defy 
computation.  To  this  requirement  every  in- 
telligent investigator  of  this  day  assents. 
Geologists  now  find  that  the  antiquity  of  man 
far  antedates  the  era  assigned  to  his  creation 
by  the  received  system  of  chronology,  and 
submits  the  evidence  of  their  belief  to  an  en- 
lightened public  sentiment.  In  the  silent 
depths  of  stratified  rocks  are  the  former  cre- 
ations of  plants  and  animals,  and  even  of  hu- 
man remains,  which  lived  and  died  during  the 
slow  dragging  centuries  of  their  formation. 
These  fossil  remains  are  fragments  of  history, 
which  enables  the  geologist  to  extend  his  re- 
searches far  back  into  the  realms  of  the  past, 
and  not  only  determine  their  former  modes  of 
life,  but  study  the  cotemporaneous  history  of 
their  rocky  beds,  and  group  them  into  sys- 
tems." 

There  is  an  intimate  relation  existing  be- 
tween the  physical  geography  and   the    geo- 
logical history  of  every  portion  of  the  earth's 
surface;    and  in   all    cases  the  topographical 
features    of    a   country  are   molded   by,  and 
therefore  must  be,  to  some  extent  at  least,  a 
reflection  of  its  geological  structure,  and  the 
changes  it   has    undergone   from   the   surface 
agencies  of  more  modern  times.     The  varied 
conditions    of     mountain    and    valley,    deep 
gorge  and  level  plain,  are  not  the   results  of 
chance,  but  on  the  contrary,  are  just  as  much 
due  to  the  operations  of  natural  laws,  as  the 
rotation  of  the  earth,  or  the  growth  and  con- 
tinued existence   of   the   various  species   of 
plants  and  animals  which  inhabit  its  surface. 
Moreover,  all   the    varied  conditions  of  the 
soil  and  its  productive  capacities,  which   may 
be  observed  in  different  portions  even  of  our 
own  State,  are  traceable  to  causes  existing  in 
the  geological  history  of  that  particular  re- 
gion, and  to  the  surface  agencies  which   have 
served  to  modify  the  whole,  and   prepare  the 
earth  for  the  reception  and  sustenance  of  the 


HISTORY    OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


13 


existing  races  of  beings.*  Hence  we  see  that 
the  geological  liistory  of  a  country  determines 
its  agricultural  capacities,  and  also  the  ainount 
of  population  which  it  may  sustain,  and  the 
general  avocation  of  its  inhabitants. 

In  the  topography  and  geology  of  Craw- 
ford County,  we  extract  most  of  our  facts 
and  information  from  the  new  geological 
survev  of  the  State,  recently  published,  and 
which  does  full  justice  to  these  subjects.  It 
says:  "  Crawford  County  contains  seven  full 
and  several  fractional  townships,  making  an 
aggregate  area  ol  about  438  square  miles.  It 
is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Clark  County,  on 
the  east  by  the  Wabash  river,  on  the  south 
by  Lawrence  and  Richland  Counties  and  on 
the  west  by  Jaspar  County.  It  is  located  on 
the  western  side  of  the  Wabash  river,  and  is 
traversed  by  several  small  streams  tributary 
thereto.  The  surface  is  generally  rolling, 
and  was  orlginallv  mostly  covered  with  tim- 
ber, a  large  portion  of  which,  however,  has 
been  cleared  away  and  the  land  brought 
under  cultivation,  though  there  is  still  re- 
maining an  abundance  of  timber  to  supply 
the  present  and  also  the  prosjiective  demand 
for  many  years.  The  southwest  portion  of 
the  county  from  the  Shaker  Mills  on  the  Em- 
l^arras  river,  nearly  to  Robinson,  is  quite 
broken,  and  there  are  also  belts  of  broken 
land  of  greater  or  less  extent  on  all  the 
streams.  The  principal  water-courses  in  the 
county  tributary  to  the  Wabash  river  are  the 
Emljarras,  which  runs  diagonally  across  the 
southwestern  corner  of  the  county;  the  North 
Fork,  traversing  its  western  border  from 
nnrth  to  south;  Crooked  Creek,  also  in  the 
southwest  part,  and  Brushy  Fork,  Lamotte 
Creek,  Sugar  Creek,  Hutson  Creek  and  a  few 
other  smaller  streams  in  the  eastern  portion 
of  the  county.  But  a  small  proportion  of  the 
land  is  prairie.     The  few  prairies  are  gener- 

*Worthen. 


ally  small,  and  for  the  most  part  rolling,  and 
are  mainly  confined  to  the  northern  and  west- 
ern portio  IS  of  the  county,  and  to  the  bottom 
and  terrace  lands  adjacent  to  the  Wabash 
river." 

GeolofJi/.— "The  quarternary  beds  in  Crawford 
County  consist  of  bulF  or  drab  marly  clays 
belonging  to  the  Loess,  which  are  found  cap- 
ping the  bluffs  of  the  Wabash,  and  attaining 
a  thickness  of  ten  to  twenty  feet  or  more,  and 
from  twenty  to  forty  feet  of  brown  gravell)' 
clays  and  hard-pan,  the  latter  resting  upon  the 
bed-rock,  or  separated  from  it  by  a  thin  bed  of 
stratified  sand  or  gravel.  If  these  beds  were 
found  in  a  vertical  section  they  would  show  the 
following  order  of  succession:  Buff  anl  drab 
marly  clays  or  sand,  ten  to  twenty  feet;  brown 
and  yellow  gravelly  clays,  fifteen  to  twenty 
feet;  bluish-gray  hard-pan,  ten  to  twenty-five 
feet;  sand  or  gravel  three  feet.  Generally 
these  superficial  deposits  are  thin,  and  at  most 
places  the  bed-rock  will  be  found  within  fifteen 
or  twenty  feet  of  the  surface.  Small  bowlders 
are  frequently  met  with  in  the  branches,  but 
large  ones  are  quite  uncommon,  and  they  are 
more  frequently  derived  from  the  limestone 
and  hard  sandstone  of  the  adjacent  coal  meas- 
ure beds  than  from  the  metamorphic  rocks 
beyond  the  confines  of  the  State,  though  some 
of  the  latter  may  be  seen. 

Coal  Measures. — "  The  stratified  rocks  of 
this  county  all  belong  to  tlie  upper  coal  meas- 
ures, the  lowest  beds  appearing  in  the  beds  of 
the  Wabash  river  and  the  highest  along  the 
western  borders  of  the  county,  and  include  the 
horizon  of  coals  Nos.  11, 12  and  13  of  the  Illi- 
nois Section.  The  only  knowledge  that  we 
have  of  the  underlying  formations  is  derived 
from  a  shaft,  and  boring  made  at  Palestine 
Landing.  The  shaft  was  sunk  to  reach  a  coal 
seam  reported  in  a  boring  previously  made  to 
be  four  feet  thick,  and  at  a  depth  of  123  feet. 
The  bore  was  made  about  a  mile  and  a  half 
northwest  of  the  shaft,  and  commenced  fifteen 


14 


HISTORY   OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


feet  below  a  thin  coal  wh'ch  outcrops  in  the  hill 
above.     It  was  made  for  oil,  duriiio^  the  oil 
fever,  and  no  great  reliance  can  be  placed  in 
the  reported   thickness  or  character  of   the 
strata  penetrated.     The  shaft  was  sunk  to  the 
horizon  of  a  coal  seam  reported  four  feet  thick 
in  the  bore,  but  on  reaching  it  in  the  shaft  it 
proved  to  be  two  feet  of  bituminous  shale  and 
six  inches   of    coal.       If  any  reliance  can  be 
placed  on  the  reported  section  of  this  boring, 
it  must  have  passed   through  coals  Nos.  10,  9 
and  8  of  the  general  section  of  the  Illinois  Coal 
Measures,  and  it  is  noticeable  that  in  the  shaft 
sunk  at  the  landing,  they  found  two  thin  beds 
of  limestone  over  the  coal  at  the  bottom   of 
the  shaft,  coal  No.  9,  showing  that   although 
this  limestone    has    thinned    out    very  much 
from  what  its  outcrop  shows  in  Clark  County, 
it   has,  nevertheless,  not   quite  disappeared. 
This  coal  was  reported  in  the  boring  at  four 
feet,  without  any  recognition  of  the   bitumi- 
nous shale  above  it,  while  in  the  shaft  that 
■was  sunk  down  to  this  horizon  in   the   antici- 
pation of  linding  a  good  seam  of  coal,  the  bi- 
tuminous shale  proved  to  be   two  feet  thick 
and   the  coal  only  six   inches.      The   rotten 
coal  No.  27  in  the  section  heretofore  referred 
to,  probably  represents  coal  No.  8,   which    in 
Gallatin  County  is  from  50  to  75   feet  above 
No.   7,  though    no  trace  of  the  latter  was  re- 
ported in  the   bore.     The    coals    intervening 
between   Nos.  8  and  15  are  seldom  found  of 
sufficient    tbickness  to  be   worked  to   advan- 
tage except  when  it  can  be  done  by  stripping 
along  their  outcrops,  and  here  they  are  of  but 
little  value  as  a  resource  for   fuel.      In   the 
western  portion  of  the  county  but  little  coal 
has  been  found,   and   only   in  a  single   mine, 
hereafter  to  be  mentioned,  has  there  been  any 
attempt  to  mine  for  c  al  in  a  systematic  way. 
The  exposure  in  the  bluffs  just  below  Pales- 
tine Landing  show  the  following   beds:     No. 
1,  covered  slope  of  Loess  and  Drift,  fifteen 
to   twenty    feet;    No.  2,  shelly  brown    lime- 


stone, with  fossils,  two  feet;  No.  3,  bitumi- 
nous shale  and  thin  coal.  No.  12,  one  to  two 
feet;  No.  4,  sand  shales  and  sandstone,  forty- 
five  to  fifty  feet:  No.  5,  bitura  nous  shale, 
with  numerous  fossils,  two  to  three  feet;  No. 
6,  coal  No.  11;  No.  7,  liard,  dark  gray  bitu- 
minous limestone,  two  to  three  feet;  No.  8, 
shale,  sixteen  to  twenty  feet.  The  shelly 
brown  limestone,  No.  2  of  the  foregoing 
section,  contains  numerous  fossils  among 
which  were  recognized  Spirifer  camratus, 
Productus  cortatus,  P.  punctatus,  P.  patten- 
ianus,  P.  longispinus,  Chonetes  Fleminffii, 
joints  and  plates  of  Crinoids,  Ordis  Pecosi 
and  some  undetermined  forms  of  bryozoa. 
Further  west  in  the  county,  and  in  Lawrence 
also.  No.  12  coal  is  overlaid  bv  a  buff  calcar- 
eous shale,  in  which  Orthis  Pecosi  and  Lo- 
f)ltiiphyUmn  proUferum  are  conspicuous. 

"  The  bituminous  shale,  No.  5  of  the  above 
section  was  found  well  exposed  at  the  bridge 
on  Lamotte  Creek,  on  the  road  from  Palestine 
to  the  landing,  and  the  following  group  of 
fossils  were  obtained  from  it  at  this  locality: 
Pleurotomoria,  Aphmurluta,  B.  percariuta, 
P.  tabulata,  P.  GraynlleurU,  Bellerophon 
carbonaiiance,  etc.,  corresponding  with  the 
beds  at  Lawrenceville  and  Grayvilie.  Nu- 
merous bands  of  carbonate  of  iron  occur  in 
the  shales  at  the  base  of  the  above  section, 
both  on  Lamotte  Creek  and  in  the  river  bank 
at  Palestine  Landing. 

"  Robinson  is  located  on  a  sandstone  de- 
posit overlaying  all  the  rocks  found  in  the 
bluffs  at  Palestine  Landing,  indicating  a  de- 
cided dip  of  the  strata  to  the  westward.  The 
outcrops  of  sandstone  on  the  small  branch  of 
Sun-ar  Creek,  which  drains  the  section  on 
which  the  town  is  built,  show  from  fifteen  to 
twenty  feet  in  thickness  of  soft  brown  rock, 
in  which  a  few  small  quarries  have  been 
opened.  This  portion  of  the  bed  affords 
shales,  and  thin-bedded,  rather  soft  brown 
sandstone,  with  some  thicker  beds  toward  the 


IIIs^TOUY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


]5 


baso  of  the  outcrop,  which  are  ratl-.cr  inacces- 
sible from  tlie  amount  of  strijipinp^  required 
to  reach  them,  as  well  as  from  the  fact  that 
thej-  are  partly  below  the  water  level  in  the 
branch.  At  Isaac  C.  Hole's  place,  north  of 
Robinson,  on  the  northeast  quarter  of  Section 
16,  Township  7,  Range  12,  more  extensive 
quarries  have  been  opened  in  this  sandstone, 
and  a  much  greater  thickness  of  strata  is  ex- 
posed. The  quarries  are  on  a  branch  in  the 
timber,  but  there  is  almost  a  continuous  out- 
crop along  the  branch,  nearh'  to  the  prairie 
level,  showing  the  following  succession  of 
strata:  Shaly  sandstone,  becoming  thicker- 
bedded  and  harder  toward  the  bottom,  and 
containing  broken  plants,  thirty  to  forty  feet; 
massive  brown  sandstone,  (main  quarry  rock) 
eight  to  ten  feet;  ferruginous  pebbh'  bed, 
three  feet.  The  massive  brown  sandstone 
quarried  here  is  locally  concretionary,  the 
concretions  being  much  harder  than  other 
portions  of  the  bed,  and  afford  a  very  durable 
stone.  This  sandstone,  with  the  shales  usually 
associated  with  it,  probably  attains  a  maxi- 
mum thickness  of  sixty  to  eighty  feet,  and 
fills  the  intervening  space  between  coals  Xos. 
12  and  13  of  the  general  section.  It  has  been 
penetrated  in  sinking  wells  on  the  prairie  in 
many  places  north  and  northwest  of  Robinson . 
Law's  coal  bank,  formerly  known  as  Eaton's 
bank,  is  on  the  southwest  part  of  the  north- 
east quarter  of  section  12,  township  7,  range 
13.  The  coal  is  a  double  seam,  about  three 
feet  thick,  with  a  parting  of  bituminous  shale 
from  two  or  three  inches  to  two  feet  in  thick- 
ness. It  is  overlaid  here  by  shale  and  a  hard7 
dark,  ash-gray  limestone,  desti|Hte  of  fossils. 
One  mile  up  the  creek  from  this  mine  the 
coal  is  said  to  pass  into  a  bituminous  shale. 
The  coal  obtained  here  is  rather  soft,  and 
subject  to  a  good  deal  of  waste  in  mining; 
but  as  the  mine  was  not  in  operation  there 
was  no  opportunity  of  judging  of  its  average 
quality.     A  section  of  the  creek  bluff  at  the 


mine  shows  the  following  order:  Gravelly 
clays  of  the  drift,  ten  to  fifteen  feet;  hard, 
dark,  ash-gray  limestone,  one  to  one  and  a 
halffi-et;  hard,  siliceous  shales,  with  nodules, 
half  a  foot;  coal,  with  shale  parting,  three 
feet.  A  boring  was  made  here  by  the  propri- 
etor, and  a  thicker  seam  was  reported  to  have 
been  found  some  forty  feet  below;  but  if  this 
report  is  correct,  the  sandstone  usually  inter- 
vening between  coals  Nos.  12  and  13  is  here 
much  below  its  average  thickness,  and  no 
such  coal  is  known  to  outcrop  in  the  county. 
However,  local  coals  are  sometimes  developed 
which  onlv  cover  very  limited  areas,  and  this 
may  be  a  case  of  that  kind. 

"  Four  miles  southwest  of  Robinson,  a  bed 
of  hard,  dark-gray  bituminous  limestone  out- 
crops in  the  bed  of  Turkey  Creek,  and  has 
been  quarried  for  building  stone,  for  which 
purpose  it  is  but  poorly  adapted,  as  it  splits 
to  fragments  after  a  limited  exposure  to  the 
elements.  The  rock  occurs  in  a  single 
stratum  about  eighteen  inches  thick,  overlaid 
by  a  brown  calcareous  shale,  filled  with  nod- 
ules of  argillaceous  limestone.  The  shale 
contained  numerous  specimens  of  Lnpho- 
p/iyllum  proliferum,  associated  with  joints 
Z/entioidea.  The  foundation  stone  for  the 
court  house  at  Robinson  was  obtained  here. 
This  limestone  may  overlay  a  thin  coal,  but 
it  could  not  be  learned  that  any  seam  had 
been  found  in  this  vicinity.  In  the  west&rn 
portion  of  the  county  outcrops  arc  rare,  and 
so  widely  separated  that  no  continuous  sec- 
tion could  be  made. 

"  On  section  4,  in  Hutsonville  township,  at 
W.  D.  Lamb's  place,  a  bed  of  limestone  is 
found  underlaid  by  five  or  six  feet  of  blue 
shale  and  a  thin  coal.  In  a  well  sunk  here  the 
limestone  was  found  to  be  live  feet  in  thick- 
ness, a  tough,  fine  grained,  dark-grayish  rock, 
containing  no  well  preserved  fossils.  On  Mr. 
Evans'  place,  just  over  the  line  of  Clark 
County,  on  section  31,  township  8,  range  12, 


15 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


heavy  masses  of  limestone  are  to  be  seen 
along  the  creek  valley.  It  is  a  massive,  gray, 
brittle  rock,  and  contains  Athyris  suhtillta, 
Spirifer  cameratus  and  Froduotus  longispri- 
nus.  A  mile  and  a  half  further  up  the  creek 
this  limestone  is  found  in  place,  and  is 
burned  for  lime  by  Mr.  Drake.  These  lime- 
stones belong,  probably,  below  the  sandstone, 
■which  is  found  at  Robinson  and  at  Hole's 
quarry.  At  Lindley's  mill,  on  the  northwest 
quarter  of  section  7,  township  8,  and  range 
13,  a  hard,  dark  gray  limestone  was  found  in 
the  bed  of  the  creek,  only  about  two  feet  in 
thickness  of  its  upper  portion  being  exposed 
above  the  creek  bed.  A  quarter  of  a  mile 
south  of  the  mill,  at  Mr.  Reynolds'  place,  coal 
is  mined  by  stripping  along  the  bed  of  a 
branch.  The  coal  is  from  15  to  18  inches, 
overlaid  by  two  or  three  feet  of  blue  shale,  and 
a  grav  limestone  filled  with  large  Product), 
Athyrus  subtilita,  etc.,  Productus  costatus, 
with  its  long  spines,  seemed  to  be  the  most 
abundant  species.  This  limestone,  and  the 
underlying  coal,  it  is  believed,  represents  the 
horizon  of  the  upper  coal  in  the  bluff  at 
Palestine  landing,  and  No.  13  of  the  general 
section. 

"At  Martin's  mill  on  Brushy  Fork,  near  the 
south  line  of  the  county,  the  limestone  and 
shale  found  at  the  Lamotte  Creek  bridge,  and 
also  at  Lawrenceville,  representing  the  horizon 
of  coal  No.  11,  is  well  exposed.  The  upper 
bed  is  there  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from 
the  creek,  and  at  a  somewhat  higher  level  ap- 
parently, than  the  sandstone.  No.  2  forming 
the  top  of  the  bluff;  but  the  intervening  space 
could  not  be  more  than  ten  to  fifteen  feet. 
Pockets  of  coal  were  found  here  in  the  con- 
cretionary sandstone;  but  although  dug  into 
for  coal,  they  proved  to  be  of  very  limited 
extent.  The  micaceous  sandstone  No.  3  of 
the  section,  affords  some  very  good  building 
stone,  and  some  of  the  thin  layers  are  distinctly 
ripple-marked.    The  calcareous  shale  afforded 


numerous  fossils  of  the  same    species  found 
at  the  Lamotte  Creek  bridge. 

"  At  Mr.  Nettles'  place,  on    the    northeast 
quarter  of   section  2i,  township  5,  range  12, 
coal  has  been  mined  for  several  years.     The 
coal  is  about  eighteen  inches  thick  and  has  a 
roof  of  fine  black  slate,  resembling  cannel  coal, 
nearly  as  thick  as  the  coal  itself.     The  black 
slate  is  overlaid  by  two  or  three  feet  of  cal- 
careous shale,  containing  Orthis  Pecosi,  Jiet- 
zia  Mornio)ii,  and   joints  and   plates  of  ZiCii- 
noidea.      This  coal  is  probably  the  same   as 
that  near  the  top  of  the  hill  at  Palestine  land- 
incr,  and  No.  13  of  the  Illinois  section.     Prof. 
Cox   reports    the   following   outcrop   in    the 
county:     In  the  hill  east  of  the  Shaker  mill, 
section  33,  township  5   and  range   12,  a  soft 
yellowish    massive    sandstone,    forming  cliffs 
along   the  ravines,  and   in   places  wethering 
into  rock  houses,  or  over-like  cavities.     Sec- 
tion here  is  as  follows:  soft  and  covered  space, 
five   feet;  flag2:y  sandstone   in  two   to   eight 
inch    layers,  eight    feet;    solid-bedded    sand- 
stone, thirteen  feet.     Sandy  shales,  flagstones 
and  an  occasional  showing  of  massive  soft  sand- 
stone, form  the  prominent  geological  features 
of  the  southern  and  western  portions  of  the 
county.     Around  Hebron,  four  miles  south  of 
Robinson,  massive  sandstone  forms  cliffs  fif- 
teen to  twenty  feet  high,  probably  a  contin- 
uation of  the  rocks  seen  at  the  Shaker  mill. 
Two  miles  and  a  half  southeast  of  Bellair  is 
the  following  section,  at  Goodin's  coal  bank: 
Slope  of  the  hill,  twenty  feet;  hard  blue  argil- 
laceous shale,  ten  feet;  coal  breaks  in  small 
frao-ments,  one  to  one  and  a  half  feet.     This 
mine  is   worited   by  a  shaft.     A  quarter  of  a 
mile  below,  on  Willow  Creek,  the  same  seam 
is  worked  on  Mr.  Matheney's  place  by  strip- 
pino-,  where  the  coal  is  of  the  same  thickness. 
This   coal  must  be  as  high  in  the  series  as 
No.  13  or  14  of  the  general  section  and  may 
be  the  coal  mined   near   Newton  and    New 
Liberty,  in  Jasper  County. 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


j7 


Coal. — "As  stated  in  a  precedinrr  pa^-c,  all 
the  stratified  rocks  in  tlie  county,  belong 
to  the  upper  coal  measures,  extending  from 
coals  No.  11  to  14  inclusive;  and  as  these 
seams  are  usually  too  thin  to  be  worked  in  a 
regular  way,  no  valuable  deposit  of  coal  is 
likely  to  be  found  outcropping  at  the  surface 
in  the  county.  The  seam  at  Mr.  Law's  place 
northeast  of  Robinson,  is  said  to  attain  a  lo- 
cal thickness  of  three  feet,  and  may  be  suc- 
cessfully mined,  when  the  coal  is  good. 
When  the  demand  for  coal  shall  be  such  as 
to  justify  deep  mining,  the  lower  coals  may 
bo  reached  at  a  depth  of  from  four  to  six 
hurulrt'd  feet.  Their  nearest  approach  to  the 
surface  is  along  the  Valley  of  the  "Wabash 
river,  and  the  depth  would  be  increased  to 
the  westward  by  the  dip  of  the  strata  and  the 
elevation  of  the  surface. 

Huilding  Stone. — "  The  best  building  stone 
to  be  found  in  the  county  comes  from  the 
heavy  bed  of  sandstone  above  coal  No.  12, 
which  outcrops  at  various  places  in  the  coun- 
ty, and  especially  at  Mr.  Hole's  quarries,  north 
of  Robinson.  At  some  locations,  a  fair  arti- 
cle of  thin  bedded  micaceous  sandstone  is 
found  between  coals  11  and  13,  as  at  Mar- 
tin's mill,  on  Brushy  Fork,  near  the  south  line 
of  the  county.  These  sandstones  afford  a 
cheap  and  durable  material  for  foundation 
walls,  bridge  abutments,  etc.  The  limestone 
four  miles  west  of  Robinson,  that  was  used  in 
the  foundation  walls  of  the  court  house,  is 
liable  to  split  when  exposed  to  the  action  of 
frost  and  water;  and  although  seeming  hai^ 
and  solid,  when  freshly  quarried,  will  not 
withstand  exposure  as  well  a»he  sandstone, 
if  the  latter  is  carefully  selected.  The  lime- 
stone at  Reynolds'  coal  bank,  near  Lindley's 
mill,  stands  exposure  well,  and  will  afford  a 
durable  building  stone. 

Iron  Ore. — "  The  shales  associated  with 
coal  No.  11  usually  contain  more  or  less  car- 
bonate of  iron,  and  at  the  locality  below  the 


bridge  on  Lamotte  Creek,  near  Palestine 
landing,  the  quality  seemed  to  be  sufficient 
to  justify  an  attempt  to  utilize  it.  The  shale 
in  the  bank  of  the  creek  shows  a  perpendic- 
ular face  of  fifteen  to  twenty  feet,  and  the 
bands  of  ore  toward  the  bottom  of  the  bed 
would  afford  from  twelve  to  eighteen  inches 
of  good  ore  in  a  thickness  of  about  six  feet  of 
shale.  At  the  river  bank  just  below  the  land- 
ing, this  shale  outcrops  again,  and  the  iron 
nodules  are  abundant  along  the  river  bank, 
where  they  have  been  washed  out  of  the 
easily  decomposed  shale.  Good  brick  clay 
can  be  found  in  the  sub-soil  of  the  uplands, 
and  sand  is  found  both  in  the  Loess  deposits 
of  the  river  bluffs,  and  in  the  beds  of  the 
streams." 

Soil  and  Timber. — From  Hutsonville  south 
there  is  a  belt  of  alluvial  bottom  and  terrace 
land,  from  one  to  three  miles  in  width,  ex- 
tending to  the  mouth  of  Lamotte  Creek,  a 
distance  of  about  ten  miles.  This  is  mostly 
prairie,  and  the  soil  is  a  deep,  sandy  loam, 
and  very  productive.  The  upland  prairies 
have  a  chocolate-colored  soil,  not  so  rich  as 
the  black  prairie  soils  of  Central  Illinois,  but 
yielding  fair  crops  of  corn,  wheat,  oats,  clover, 
etc.  On  the  timbered  lands  the  soil  is  some- 
what variable.  Where  the  surface  is  broken 
the  soil  is  thin,  but  on  the  more  level  portions 
where  the  growth  is  composed  in  part  of  black 
walnut,  sugar  tr(>e,  linden,  hacki)erry  and 
wild  cherry;  the  soil  is  very  productive,  and 
yields  annually  large  crops  of  all  the  cereals 
usually  grown  in  this  latitude. 

The  varieties  of  timber  observed  in  this 
county  are  the  common  species  of  oak  a)id 
hickory,  black  and  white  walnut,  white  and 
sugar  maple,  slippery  and  red  elm,  honey  lo- 
cust, linden,  hackberry,  ash,  red  birch,  cotton- 
wood,  sycamore,  coffeenut,  black  gum,  pecan, 
persimmon,  pawpaw,  red  fliorn,  crab  apple, 
wild  pl.um,  sassafras,  red  bud,  dogwood,  iron 
wood,  etc.,  etc. 


CHAPTER   II.* 

PRE-HISTORIC   OCCUPATION   OF   THE    COUNTRY— THE   MOUND    BUILDERS— RELTCS    AND 
WORKS  OF  THE  LOST  RACE— THE  MEROM  MOUNDS— EARTHWORKS  AND  MOUNDS 
AT    HUTSONVILLE— OTHER  RELICS.  ETC.-THE  INDIANS— DELA WARES 
AND  KICKAPOOS— THEIR  POSSESSION  OF  SOUTHERN  ILLI- 
NOIS—fflSTORICAL  SKETCHES  OF  THEIR  TRIBES, 
ETC —LOCAL  FACTS  AND  TRADITIONS. 


"  The  verdant,  hills 
Are  covered  o'er  with  growing  grain, 
And  white  men  till  the  soil 
Where  once  the  red  man  used  to  reign." 

LONG  ago,  before  this  country  was  pos- 
sessed by  the  red  Indian,  it  was  occupied 
by  another  race — the  Mound  Builders — wliose 
works  constitute  the  most  interesting  class 
of  antiquities  found  in  the  United  States. 
These  relics  and  works  of  a  lost  race,  ante- 
date the  most  ancient  records,  and  their  cliar- 
acter  can  only  be  partially  gleaned  from  the 
internal  evidences  which  the  works  them- 
selves afford.  Of  the  strange  people  who 
reared  them,  we  know  absolutely  nothing  be- 
yond conjecture.  If  we  knock  at  their  tombs, 
no  spirit  comes  back  with  a  response,  and 
only  a  sepulchral  echo  of  forgetfulness  and 
death  reminds  us  how  vain  is  the  attempt  to 
unlock  the  mysterious  past  upon  which  ob- 
livion has  fixed  its  seal.  How  forcibly  their 
bones,  moldering  into  dust  in  the  mounds 
they  heaped  up,  and  the  perishing  relics  they 
left  behind  them,  illustrate  the  transitory 
character  of  human  existence.  Generation 
after  generation  lives,  moves  and  is  no  more; 
time  has  strewn  the  track  of  its  ruthless 
march  with  the  fragments  of  mighty  empires; 
and  at  length  not  even  their  names  nor  works 

*By  W.  H.  Pei-rin. 


have  an  existence  in  the  speculations  of  those 
who  take  their  places. 

Modern  investigations  have  thrown  much 
light  upon  the  origin  of  the  human  race.  A 
writer  upon  the  pre-historio  period,  savs: 
"The  combined  investigations  of  geologists 
and  ethnologists  have  developed  facts  which 
require  us  to  essentially  modify  our  pre-exist- 
ing views  as  to  the  length  of  time  during 
which  the  human  race  has  occupied  our 
planet.  That  man  lived  at  a  time  far  too  re- 
mote to  be  embraced  in  our  received  system 
of  chronology,  surrounded  by  great  quadru- 
peds which  have  ceased  to  exist,  under  a 
climate  very  different  from  what  now  prevails, 
has  been  so  clearly  demonstrated  that  the 
fact  must  now  be  accepted  as  a  scientific 
truth.  Revelations  so  startling,  have  been 
received  with  disquiet  and  distrust  by  those 
who  adhere  to  the  chronology  of  Usher  and 
Petarius,  which  would  bring  the  various  mi- 
grations of  men,  the  confusion  of  tongues, 
the  peopling  of  continents,  the  development 
of  types,  and  everything  relating  to  human 
history,  within  the  short  compass  of  little 
more  than  four  thousand  years. 

"  Those  great  physical  revolutions  in  Eu- 
rope, such  as  the  contraction   of  the  glaciers 
within  narrow  limits,  the  gradual  change  of 
the  Baltic  from  salt  to   brackish  water,  the 
submergence  and  subsequent  elevation  of  a 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


19 


large  portion  of  southern  Russia  and  northern 
Germany,  the  conversion  of  a  portion  of  the 
bod  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea  into  the  desert 
of  Sahara,  the  severance  of  France  from  En- 
gland, Europe  from  Africa  and  Asia  from 
Europe,  by  the  Straits  of  Dover,  Gibralter 
and  the  Dardanelles,  and  the  dying  out  of  the 
volcanic  fires  of  Auvergne — all  these  great 
physical  changes  which  geologists,  by  univer- 
sal consent,  admitted  were  infinitely  older 
than  any  authentic  history  or  tradition,  must 
now  be  comprehended  in  the  Human  Epoch." 

Says  Sir  John  Lubbock:  "Ethnology  is 
passing  through  a  phase  from  which  other  sci- 
ences have  safely  emerged,  and  the  new 
views  in  reference  to  the  Antiquity  of  Man, 
though  still  looked  upon  with  distrust  and 
apprehension,  will,  I  doubt  not,  in  a  few  years, 
be  regarded  with  as  little  disquietude  as  are 
now  those  discoveries  in  astronomy  and  geol- 
ogy which  at  one  time  excited  even  greater 
opposition."  However  strange  these  new 
views  may  appear,  they  but  prove  the  origin 
of  man  at  a  time,  as  previously  stated,  far  too 
remote  to  be  embraced  in  the  "  received  sys- 
tem of  chronology."  Speaking  of  the  ruins 
of  the  magnificent  cities  of  Central  America, 
Davidson  says:  "The  mind  is  almost  startled 
at  the  remoteness  of  their  antiquity,  when 
we  consider  the  vast  sweep  of  time  necessary 
to  erect  such  colossal  structures  of  solid  ma- 
sonry, and  afterward  convert  them  into  the 
present  utter  wreck.  Comparing  their  com- 
plete desolation  with  the  ruins  of  Baalbec, 
Palmyra,  Thebes  and  Memphis,  they  must 
have  been  old  when  the  latter  were  being 
built." 

The  relics  and  ruins  left  by  the  Mound 
Builders — the  lost  race  which  now  repose  un- 
der the  ground — consist  of  the  remains  of 
what  were  apparently  villages,  altars,  temples, 
idols,  cemeteries,  monuments,  camps,  fortifi- 
cations and  pleasure  grounds.  The  farthest 
of  these   discovered  in  a  northeastern  direc- 


tion was  near  Black  River,  on  the  south  side 
of  Lake  Ontario.  From  this  point  they  ex- 
tend in  a  southwestern  direction,  by  way  of 
the  Ohio,  the  Mississippi,  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
Te.xas,  New  Mexico  and  Yucatan,  into  South 
America.  Commencing  in  Cattaraugus  Coun- 
ty, N.  Y.,  there  was  a  chain  of  these  forts 
and  earthworks,  extending  more  than  fifty 
miles  southwesterly,  and  not  more  than  four 
or  five  miles  apart,  evidently  built  by  a  people 
"rude  in  the  arts  and  few  in  numbers." 
Particularly  in  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Val- 
leys are  located  many  of  these  works,  and 
some  of  the  most  extensive  known  to  exist. 
"  One  of  the  most  august  monuments  of  re- 
mote antiquity,"  says  Foster,  "  to  be  found  in 
the  whole  country^,  may  stdl  be  seen  in  West 
Virginia,  near  the  junction  of  Grave  Creek 
and  the  Ohio  River.  According  to  actual 
measurement  it  has  an  altitude  of  ninety 
feet,  a  diameter  at  the  base  of  100  feet, 
at  the  summit  of  forty-five,  while  a  partial 
examination  has  disclosed  within  it  the  ex- 
istence of  many  thousands  of  human  skele- 
tons." In  the  State  of  Ohio,  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Muskingum,  among  a  number  of  curious 
works,  was  a  rectangular  fore  containing  forty 
acres,  encircled  by  a  wall  of  earth  ten  feet 
high,  and  perforated  with  openings  resem- 
bling gateways.  In  the  mound  near  the  fort 
were  found  the  remains  of  a  sword,  which 
appeared  to  have  been  buried  with  the 
owner.  Resting  on  the  forehead  were  found 
three  large  copper  bosses,  plated  with  silver, 
and  attached  to  a  leather  buckler.  Near  the 
side  of  the  body  was  a  plate  of  silver,  which 
had  perhaps  been  the  upper  part  of  a  copper 
scabbard,  portions  of  which  were  filled  with 
iron  rust,  doubtless  the  remains  of  a  sword. 

The  earthwoiks  which  seem  to  have  been 
erected  as  means  of  defense,  usuaiy  occupy 
hill-tops  and  other  situations  easily  fortified, 
to  put  it  in  modern  terms.  In  Ross  County, 
Ohio,  is  a  fair  illustration  of  this  class,  and  is 


20 


HISTORY  OF   CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


thus  described  by  Squier  and  Davis,  two  emi- 
nent archaeologists:  "This  work  occupies 
the  summit  of  a  lofty,  d  it  lolied  hil!,  tw  Ive 
miles  westward  from  tlie  city  of  Cliillicothe, 
near  th.i  viihige  of  Bjunieviile.  The  hill  is 
no;  far  from  Oiie  h.indred  feet  m  perpendicular 
height,  and  is  remarkable,  even  among  the 
steep  hills  of  the  west,  for  the  general  abrupt- 
ness of  its  sides,  which  at  some  points  are  ab- 
solutely inaccessible.  *  *  *  *  'pijg  jp. 
fenses  consist  of  a  wall  of  stone,  which 
is  carried  round  the  hill  a  little  below  the 
brow;  but  at  some  places  it  rises,  so  as  to 
cut  off  the  narrow  spurs,  and  extends  across 
the  neck  that  connects  the  hill  with  the 
range  beyond."  Nothing  like  a  true  wall, 
however,  exists  there  now,  but  the  "present 
appearance  is  rather  what  might  have 
been  expected  from  the  falling  outward  of 
a  wall  of  stones,  placed,  as  this  was,  upon 
the  declivity  of  a  hill."  The  area  inclosed  by 
this  wall  was  140  acres,  and  the  wall  itself 
was  two  miles  and  a  quarter  in  length.  Trees 
of  the  largest  size  now  grow  upon  these  ruins. 
On  a  similar  work  in  Highland  County,  O.iio, 
Messrs.  Squier  and  Davis  found  a  large  chest- 
nut tree,  which  they  supposed  to  be  600  years 
old.  "  If  to  this  we  add,"  they  say,  "  the 
probable  period  intervening  from  the  time 
of  the  building  of  this  work  to  its  abandon- 
ment, and  the  subsequent  period  up  to  its 
invasion  by  the  forest,  we  are  led  irresistibly 
to  the  conclusion  that  it  has  an  antiquity  of  at 
least  one  thousand  years.  Bat  when  W3 
notice,  all  around  us,  the  crumbling  trunks  of 
trees,  half  hidden  in  the  accumulating  soil, 
we  are  induced  to  fix  on  an  antiquity  still 
more  remote." 

At  Merom,  Indiana,  are  works  of  a  very 
interesting  character,  which  have  been 
thoroughly  investigated  and  described  by 
scientists.  These  works  have  yielded  a  num- 
ber of  skulls,  which,  says  Foster,  "  will  form 
the  basis  of  certain  ethnic  speculations  as  to 


the  character  of  the  Mound  Builder,  and  his 
affiliation  with  other  distinct  and  widely 
disseminated  peoples."  Mr.  F.  W.  Putnam 
thus  describes  them:  "The  fort  is  situated 
on  a  plateau  of  Loess,  about  120  feet  in  height 
ar)ove  low  water,  on  the  east  bink  of  the 
river.  On  the  river  side,  the  bank,  which 
principally  consists  of  an  outcrop  of  sand- 
stone, is  very  steep,  and  from  the  western  line 
of  the  fortification,  while  deep  ravines  add  to 
its  strength  on  the  other  side;  the  weak 
points  being  strengthened  by  earthworks. 
The  general  course  of  the  work  is  from  the 
north,  where  it  is  very  narrow,  not  over  fifty 
feet,  owing  to  the  formation  of  the  plateau, 
south  along  the  river  bank  aliout  725  feet  to 
its  widest  portion,  which  is  here  about  .S75 
feet  east  and  west.  From  this  point  it  follows 
a  deep  ravine  southerly  about  4130  feet  to  the 
entrance  end  of  the  fort.  The  bank  trav- 
ersed by  the  entrance  road  is  here  much 
wider  than  at  other  portions,  and  along  its 
outer  wall,  running  eastward,  are  the  remains 
of  what  was  evidently  once  a  deep  ditch.  The 
outer  wall  is  about  thirty  feet  wide,  and  is 
now  about  one  and  a  half  feet  high;  a  de- 
pressed portion  of  the  bank,  or  walk-way, 
then  runs  parallel  with  the  outer  wall,  and 
the  bank  is  then  contiinud  for  about  twenty 
feet  further  into  the  fort,  but  of  slightly  less 
height  than  the  front.  Through  the  center  of 
these  banks  there  are  the  remains  of  a  dis- 
tinct road-way,  about  ten  feet  in  width. 
From  the  northeastern  corner  of  this  wide 
wall  the  line  continues  northwesterly  about 
350  feet,  along  the  eastern  ravine,  to  a  point 
where  there  is  a  spring,  and  the  ravine  makes 
an  indenture  of  nearly  100  feet  to  the  south- 
west. The  mouth  of  the  indenture  is  about 
75  feet  in  width,  and  the  work  is  here 
strengthened  by  a  double  embankment.  The 
natural  line  of  the  work  follows  this  indent- 
ure, and  then  continues  in  the  same  northerly 
course  along  the  banks  of  the  ravine  to  the 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFOUD  COUNTY. 


21 


narrow  portion  of  tlie  plateau,  about  550  feet, 
to  the  starting  point.  There  is  thus  a  con- 
tinual line,  in  part  natural  and  in  part  artifi- 
cial, which,  if  measured  in  all  its  little  ins  and 
outs,  would  not  be  far  from  2,-150  feet.  Be- 
sides the  spring  mentioned  as  in  the  indent- 
ure of  the  eastern  ravine,  there  is  another 
spring  in  the  same  ravine,  about  175  feet  to 
the  north  of  the  first,  and  a  third  in  the  south- 
western corner  of  the  work.  Looking  at  all 
the  natural  advantages  offered  by  this  loca- 
tion, it  is  the  one  spot  of  the  region,  for  sev- 
eral miles  along  the  river,  that  would  be  se- 
lected to-day  for  the  erection  of  a  fortification 
in  the  vicinjty,  with  the  addition  of  the  pos- 
session of  a  small  eminence  to  the  north, 
which  in  these  days  of  artillery  would  com- 
mand the  fort.  Having  this  view  in  mind,  a 
careful  examination  was  made  of  the  eminence 
mentioned,  to  see  if  there  had  been  an  op- 
posing or  protective  work  there,  but  not  the 
slightest  indication  of  earthwork  fortification 
or  mounds  of  habitation  was  discovered.  * 
*  *  *  On  crossing  the  outer  wall,  a  few 
low  mounds  are  at  once  noticed,  and  all 
around  are  seen  large,  circular  depressions. 
At  the  southern  portion  of  the  fort,  these  de- 
pressions, of  which  there  are  forty-five  in  all, 
are  most  numerous,  thirty-seven  being  located 
on  the  northern  side  of  the  indenture  of 
the  eastern  ravine.  These  depressions 
vary  in  width  from  ten  to  twenty-five  or 
thirty  feet,  and  are  irregularly  arrangeil. 
One  of  the  six  depressions  opposite  the 
indenture  of  the  eastern  ravine  is  oval  in 
shape,  and  is  the  only  one  that  is  not  nearly 
circular,  the  others  varying  but  a  foot  or  two 
in  diameter.  Two  of  these  depressions  were 
dug  into,  and  it  was  found  that  they  were 
evidently  once  large  pits  that  had  gradually 
been  filled  by  the  hand  of  time  with  the  ac- 
cumulation of  vegetable  matter  and  soil  that 
had  been  deposited  by  natural  action  alone. 
In  some  instances  large  trees  are  now  grow-  . 


ing  in  the  pits,  and  their  many  roots  make 
digging  difficult.  A  trench  was  dug  across 
one  pit,  throwing  out  the  soil  care'fully  until 
the  former  bottom  was  reached  at  a  depth  of 
about  five  feet.  On'  this  bottom,  ashes  and 
burnt  clay  gave  evidence  of  an  ancient  fire; 
and  at  a  few  feet  on  one  side,  several  pieces 
of  pottery,  a  few  bones  of  animals,  and  one 
stone  arrow-head  were  found.  A  spot  had 
evidently  been  struck  where  food  had  been 
cooked  and  eaten;  and  though  there  was  not 
time  to  open  other  pits,  there  is  no  doubt  but 
that  they  would  tell  a  similar  story;  and  the 
legitimate  conclusion  to  he  drawn  from  the 
fact  is,  that  these  pits  were  the  houses  of  the 
inhabitants  or  defenders  of  the  fort,  who  were 
probably  further  protected  from  the  elements 
and  the  arrows  of  assailants  by  a  roof  of  logs 
and  bark  or  boughs.  The  great  number  of 
the  pits  would  show  that  they  were  not  for  a 
definite  and  general  purpose;  and  tlioir  reg- 
ular arrangement  would  indicate  that  they 
were  not  laid  out  with  the  sole  idea  of  acting 
as  places  of  defense;  though  those  near  the 
walls  of  the  fort  might  answer  as  covers,  from 
which  to  fire  on  an  opposing  force  boyond  the 
walls;  and  the  six  pits  near  the  eastern  indent- 
ure, in  front  of  three  of  which  there  are  traces 
of  two  small  earth- walls,  would  strengthen 
this  view  of  the  use  of  those  near  the  em- 
bankment. The  five  small  mounds  ware  sit- 
uated in  various  parts  of  the  inclosure.  The 
largest  was  nearly  fifty  feet  in  diameter  and 
was  probably  originally  not  over  ten  feet  in 
height.  It  had  been  very  nearly  dug  away 
in  places,  but  about  one  fifth  of  the  lower 
portion  had  not  been  disturbed.  From  this 
was  exhumed  one  nearly  perfect  human  skel- 
eton, and  parts  of  several  others  that  had 
been  left  by  former  excavators.  This  mound 
also  contained  several  bones  of  animals,  prin- 
cipally of  deer,  bear,  opossum  and  turtles; 
fragments  of  pottery,  one  arrow-head,  a  few 
flint  chips  and  a  number  of  thick  shells  of  itnios. 


22 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUXTY. 


two  of  which  hii'l  been  bored  near  the  hino^e. 
This  mound  has  yielded  a  number  of  human 
bones  to  the  industry  of  Dr.  H.  Frank  Har- 
per. The  second  mound,  which  was  partly 
opened,  was  some  twenty-five  feet  in  diame- 
ter and  a  few  feet  in  heijjht,  though  probably 
once  much  higher.  In  this  a  number  of  bones 
of  deer  and  other  animals  were  found,  sev- 
eral pieces  of  pottery,  a  number  of  shells  and 
a  few  human  bones.  The  other  three  mounds, 
one  of  which  is  not  over  ten  or  twelve  feet 
in  diameter  and  situated  the  farthest  north, 
were  not  examined  internally.  The  position 
of  all  the  mounds  within  the  inclosure,  is 
such  as  to  suggest  that  they  were  used  as  ob- 
servatories; and  it  may  yet  be  questioned  if 
the  human  and  other  remains  found  in  them 
were  placed  there  by  the  occupants  of  the 
fort,  or  are  to  be  considered  under  the  head 
of  iiitntsioe  burials  by  the  later  race.  Per- 
haps a  further  study  of  the  bones  may  settle 
the  point.  That  two  races  have  buried  their 
dead  within  the  inclosure  is  made  probable 
by  the  finding  of  an  entirely  different  class  of 
burials  at  the  extreme  western  point  of  the 
fortiftcation.  At  this  point  Dr.  Harper,  the 
year  previous,  had  discovered  three  stone 
graves,  in  which  he  found  portions  of  the 
skeletons  of  two  adults  and  one  child.  These 
graves,  the  stones  of  one  being  still  in  place, 
were  found  to  be  made  by  placing  thin  slabs 
on  end,  forming  the  sides  and  ends,  the  tops 
being  covered  by  other  slabs,  making  a  rough 
stone  coffin  in  which  the  bodies  had  been 
placed.  There  was  no  indication  of  any 
mound  having  been  ere  'ted,  and  they  were 
placed  slightly  on  the  slope  of  the  bank.  This 
kind  of  burial  is  so  distinct  from  that  of  the 
burials  in  the  mound,  that  it  is  possible  that 
the  acts  mav  be  referred  to  two  distinct  races 
who  have  occupied  the  territory  successively, 
though  they  may  prove  to  be  of  the  same 
time,  and  simply  indicate  a  special  mode, 
adopted  for  a  distinctive  purpose." 


We  have  devoted  considerable  space  to  the 
Merom  Mounds,  from  the  fact  that  their  near 
proximity  renders  them  of  peculiar  interest  in 
the  history  of  Crawford  County,  more  espe- 
cially, as  another  group  of  mounds  on  the 
west  side  of  the  Wabash,  near  Hutsonville, 
were  investigated  and  described  by  the  party 
to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  the  foregoing 
description  of  the  works  near  Merom.  Of  the 
mounds  near  Hutsonville,  the  same  authority 
says:  "A  group  of  fifty-nine  mounds  is  to  be 
seen  a  few  miles  Up  the  river  from  Merom,  on 
the  Illinois  side  at  Hutsonville.  The  relative 
position  and  size  of  the  mounds  are  shown  by 
a  cut  from  a  plan  made  by  Mr.  Emerton. 
This  group  commences  just  beyond  the  river- 
terrace,  and  widens  out  to  the  east  and  west, 
covering  a  distance  of  about  1,000  feet  from 
the  mound  on  the  extreme  east  to  that  furthest 
west,  and  continues  southward,  back  from  the 
river,  on  the  second  or  prairie-terrace,  some 
1,400  or  1,500  feet.  The  greater  number  of 
the  mounds  forming  the  group  are  situated  in 
the  northern  half  of  the  territory  covered, 
while  only  ten  are  on  the  south  of  this  central 
line.  The  mounds  are  very  irregularly  dis- 
posed over  the  territorv  included  in  the  limits, 
and  vary  in  size  from  fourteen  to  eighteen 
feet  to  forty-five  or  fifty  in  diameter,  and  are 
now  from  a  foot  and  a  half  to  five  feet  in 
height,  though  probably  formerly  much  higher. 
Four  of  the  mounds  at  the  southern  portion  of 
the  group  were  surrounded  by  a  low  ridge, 
now  somewhat  indistinct,  but  still  in  places 
about  a  foot  in  height.  These  ridges  are  com- 
posed of  dirt,  evidently  scooped  -up  from 
round  the  base  of  the  mounil,  as  between  the 
ridge  and  the  mound  there  is  still  a  slight  and 
even  depression.  The  ridges  about  the 
southernmost  mounds  have  openings  nearly 
facing  each  other,  while  the  one  to  the  north 
of  them  has  the  ridge  broken  on  both  the 
eastern  and  western  sides,  and  the  one  stdl 
further  to  the  north  has  the  ridge  entire. 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


23 


"In  referring  to  this  group  of  mounds  I 
have  called  them  mounds  of  habitation,  and  it 
seems  as  if  that  was  most  likely  to  have  been 
their  use.  First,  from  the  character  of  the 
surrounding  country,  which  is  level,  and  only 
some  twenty-five  or  thirty  feet  above  the 
present  level  of  the  river,  with  every  indica- 
tion of  a  clear,  damp  soil  in  former  times, 
though  the  part  now  under  cultivation  is  cov- 
ered with  a  heavy  growth  of  trees,  several 
large  trees  even  growing  immediately  on 
some  of  the  mounds.  ^Yhat  would  be  more 
natural  to  persons  wishing  to  avail  themselves 
of  this  tenace-prairie  and  proximity  to  the 
river,  than  to  make  a  mound  on  which  to  erect 
their  dwelling? 

"  Socondiv,  their  great  variation  in  size  and 
irre2;ularity  in  positiou  would  indicate  that  a 
number  of  persons  had  got  together  for  some 
common  purpose,  and  each  family  working 
with  a  common  view  to  provide  for  certain 
ends,  had  erected  a  mound,  varying  in  size 
according  to  the  number  at  work  upon  it,  or 
the  degree  of  industry  with  which  its  makers 
worked  during  the  time  at  their  disposal. 

"Thirdly,  four  of  the  mounds  were  most 
carefully  examined,  to  ascertain  if  they  were 
places  of  burial,  one  of  them  being  opened  by 
diaro-ino-  a  trench  through  it  some  three  or 
four  feet  in  width,  and  to  a  depth  of  about 
one  to  two  feet  below  the  level  of  the  surface 
on  which  the  mound  was  built.  The  other 
three  were  opened  from  the  top,  by  digging 
down  in  the  center  until  the  original  under- 
lined surface  was  reached.  None  of  these  ex- 
cavations brought  a  single  bone  or  an  imple- 
ment of  any  kind  to  light,  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, showed  that  the  mounds  had  been  made 
of  various  materials  at  hand,  and  in  one  case 
ashes  were  found  which  had  probably  been 
scraped  up  with  other  material  and  thrown 
upon  the  heap. 

"Fourthly,  the  ridge  surrounding  four  of 
the  mounds  may  be  the  dirt  thrown  up  to  help 


support  a  palisade  or  stake  fence  enclosing 
these  particular  mounds  for  some  special  pur- 
pose. The  absence  of  human  remains  and 
all  refuse  in  the  shape  of  kitchen  heaps,  as 
well  as  implements,  would  seem  to  indicate 
that  it  w.is  a  place  of  resort  at  special  seasons, 
or  for  some  particular  purpose.  That  the 
mounds  are  of  quite  ancient  date  there  can 
be  no  question;  but  beyond  the  fact  that  at 
least  a  second  growth  of  trees  has  taken  place 
on  some  of  them,  we  have  no  data  for  indi- 
cating their  age." 

There  are  no  other  mounds  or  earthworks, 
so  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  learn,  in  the 
county.  But  in  many  portions  of  the  Slate 
they  are  numerous,  and  in  some  very  large. 
Between  Alton  and  East  St.  Louis  there  is  a 
group  containing  some  sixty  odd  structures  in 
which  is  included  the  great  mound  of  Ca- 
hokia,  which  is  denominated  the  "  monarch  of 
all  similar  structures  in  the  United  States." 
But  our  space  will  not  admit  of  further  de- 
scription of  the  works  and  relics  left  by  this 
strange  people — works  that  contain  no  in- 
scriptions which,  like  those  found  on  the 
plains  of  Shinar,  or  in  the  valley  of  the  Nile, 
can  unfold  the  mysterious  of  by -gone  centu- 
ries. The  questions,  who  were  the  Mound 
Builders?  who  reared  these  mysterious  struct- 
ures? have  never  been  satisfactorily  answered. 
We  can  only  exclaim  with  Bryant — 

"  A  race  that  long  has  passed  away 
Built  them,  a  disciplined  and  populous  race, 
Heaped  with  long  toil  the  earth,  while  yet  the  Greek 
Wiis  hewing  the  Pentelicus  to  forms 
Of  syuim  'try,  and  reaving  on  its  rock 
The  glittering  Parthenon." 

Following  the  Mound  Builders,  and  sup- 
posed by  some  writers  to  have  been  their 
conquerors,  came  the  red  Indians,  the  next 
occupants  of  this  country.  They  were  found 
here  by  the  Europeans,  but  how  long  they 
had  been  in  possession  of  the  country,  there 
is  no  means  of  knowing.     Like  their  precur- 


24 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


Bors,  the  Mound  Builders,  "  no  historian  has 
preserved  the  story  of  tlieir  race."  Tlie 
question  of  the  origin  of  the  Indian  has  long 
interested  archasologists,  and  is  one  of  the 
most  difficult  they  have  been  called  on  to 
answer.  It  is  believed  by  some  that  they 
were  an  original  race  indigenous  to  the 
Western  Hemisphere.  A  more  common  sup- 
position, however,  is  that  they  are  a  derivative 
race,  and  sprang  from  one  or  more  of  the 
ancient  peoples  of  Asia.  In  the  absence  of 
all  authentic  history,  and  even  when  tradition 
is  wanting,  any  attempt  to  point  out  the  par- 
ticular theater  of  their  origin  must  prove  un- 
satisfactory. The  exact  place  of  their  origin, 
doubtless,  will  never  be  known,  yet  the 
striking  coincidences  of  physical  organization 
between  the  oriental  types  of  mankind  point 
unmistakably  to  some  part  of  Asia  as  the 
place  from  whence  they  emigrated.  Instead 
of  1,800  years,  the  time  of  their  roving  in  the 
wilds  of  America,  as  determined  by  Spanish 
interpretation  of  their  pictographic  records, 
the  interval  has  perhaps  been  thrice  that  pe- 
riod. Scarcely  three  thousand  years  would 
suffice  to  blot  out  every  trace  of  the  language 
they  brought  with  them  from  the  Asiatic 
cradle  of  the  race,  and  introduce  the  present 
diversity  of  aboriginal  tongues.  Like  their 
oriental  progenitors,  they  have  lived  for  cent- 
uries without  progress,  while  the  Caucasian 
variety  of  the  race,  under  the  transforming 
power  of  art,  science  and  improved  systems 
of  civil  polity,  have  made  the  most  rapid  ad- 
vancement. At  the  time  of  their  departure 
eastward  a  strong  current  of  emigration 
flowed  westward  to  Europe,  making  it  a  great 
arena  of  human  effort  and  improvement. 
Thence  proceeding  further  westward,  it  met, 
in  America,  the  midway  station  in  the  circuit 
of  the  globe,  the  opposing  current  direct  from 
^sia.  The  shock  of  the  first  contact  was  the 
beginning   of  the  great   conflict   which    has 


since  been  waged  by  the  rival  sons  of  Shem 
and  Japheth.* 

The  first  thought  of  the  red  men,  when 
hostilities  commenced  on  the  Atlantic  border, 
was  to  retire  westward.  Fiom  the  eastern 
shores  of  the  continent  they  were  pressed 
backward  toward  the  setting  sun,  strewing 
their  path  with  the  bones  and  skeletons  of 
their  martyred  warriors.  They  crossed  the  Al- 
leghanies,  and,  descending  the  western  slope, 
chanting  the  death-songs  of  their  tribe,  they 
poured  into  the  Mississippi  Valley.  Halting 
upon  the  prairies  of  the"Illini,"  amid  the 
forests  that  bounded  the  southern  streams 
and  shaded  the  luxurious  valleys,  the  warlike 
Delawares  and  the  bloodthirsty  Kickapoos 
made  the  last  home  of  their  own  choosing. 
How  long  they  occupied  this  section  of  the 
State,  is  not  definitely  known,  for  no  rude 
pyramid  of  stone  or  "  misshapen  tomb,"  with 
traditional  narratives  transmitted  by  heredi- 
tary piety  from  age  to  age,  tell  the  exact  pe- 
riod of  time  when  they  first  planted  their 
wigwams  on  the  banks  of  the  Embarras  and 
the  Wabash.  It  is  enough  to  say,  however, 
that  they  were  not  allowed  to  remain  here  in 
peace.  From  across  the  ocean  the  colonists 
of  a  new  and  powerful  people  came,  and  ef- 
fected a  lodgment  at  isolated  spots  within 
hearing  of  the  roar  of  the  Atlantic  surf. 
They  grew  into  a  great  multitude,  and  like 
the  little  stone  cut  out  of  the  mountains  by 
unseen  hands,  were  rolling  on  as  a  mighty 
avalanche,  overv;helming  all  in  its  way.  In 
the  early  glimmering  of  the  nineteenth  cent- 
ury, the  Indians  were  forced  to  take  up  their 
line  of  march  from  southern  Illinois,  nor  al- 
lowed to  pause,  until  far  beyond  the  great 
Father  of  Waters. 

The  Indians  occupying  this  portion  of  Illi- 
nois, when   the  first  actual   settlers  came    to 

*  Davidson. 


HISTOR'i    OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


the  territory,  were  the  Delawares  and  Kicka- 
poos,  with  occasional  small  bands  from  other 
tribes.  The  Delawares  called  themselves 
Jjcnno  Lenape,  which  signifies  "  original  "  or 
"unmixed"  men.  "When  first  met  with  by 
Europeans,"  says  Gallatin,  "  they  occupied  a 
district  of  country  bounded  easterly  by  the 
Hudson  River  and  the  Atlantic;  on  the  west 
their  territories  extended  to  tiie  ridge  sepa- 
rating the  flow  of  the  Delaware  from  the  other 
streams  emptying  into  tlie  Susquehanna 
River  and  Ciiesapeake  Bay."  The  Delawares 
had  been  a  migratory  people.  According  to 
their  own  traditions,  many  hundred  years  ago, 
they  resided  in  the  western  part  of  the  conti- 
nent; thence,  by  slow  emigration,  they 
reached  the  Alleghany  River,  so  called  from 
a  nation  of  giants,  the  "  Allegewi,"  against 
whom  they  (the  Delawares)  and  the  Iroq\iois 
(the  latter  also  emigrants  from  the  west)  car- 
ried on  successful  war;  and  still  proceeding 
eastward,  settled  on  the  Dela,ware,  Hudson, 
Susquehanna,  and  Potomac  Rivers,  making 
the  Delaware  the  center  of  their  possessions. 
By  the  other  Algonquin  tribes  the  Delawares 
were  regarded  with  the  utmost  respect  and 
veneration.  They  were  called  "fathers," 
"  grandfathers,"  etc.* 

The  Quakers  who  settled  Pennsylvania 
treated  the  Delawares  in  accordance  with 
the  rules  of  justice  and  equity.  The  result 
was  that,  during  a  period  of  sixty  3'ears,  peace 
and  the  utmost  harmony  prevailed.  This  is 
the  only  instance  in  the  settling  of  America 
by  the  English,  where  uninterrupted  friend- 
ship and  good  will  existed  between  the  col- 
onists and  the  aboriginal  inhabitants.  Grad- 
ually, and  by  peaceable  means,  the  Quakers 
obtained  possession  of  the  greater  .  part  of 
their  territory,  and  the  Delawares  were  in  the 
same  situation  as  other  tribes — without  lands, 


'  Taylor's  History. 


without    means   of    subsistence,    and     were 
threatened  with  starvation. 

The  territory  claimed  by  the  Delawares 
subsequent  to  their  being  driven  westward 
from  their  former  possessions,  by  their  old 
enemies,  the  Iroquois,  is  established  in  a 
paper  addressed  to  Congress,  May  10,  1779, 
from  delegates  assembled  at  Princeton,  N.  J. 
The  boundaries  as  declared  in  the  address 
were  as  follows:  "  From  the  mouth  of  the 
Alleghany  River  at  Fort  Pitt,  to  the  Venango, 
and  from  thence  up  French  Creek,  and  by 
Le  Bceuf  (the  present  site  of  ^yaterford, 
Penn.)  along  the  old  road  to  Presque  Isle, 
onthe  east;  the  O'lio  River,  including  all  the 
islands  in  it,  from  Fort  Pitt  to  the  Ouabache, 
o?i  the  south;  thence  up  the  River  Ouabache 
to  that  branch,  Ope-co-mee-cah,  (the  Indian 
name  of  White  River,  Indiana,)  and  up  the 
same  to  the  head  thereof;  from  thence  to  the 
headwaters  and  springs  of  the  Great  Miami, 
or  Rocky  River;  thence  across  to  the  head- 
waters of  the  most  northeastern  branches  of 
the  Scioto  River;  thence  to  the  westernmost 
springs  of  the  Sandusky  River;  thence  down 
said  river,  including  the  islands  in  it  and  in 
the  little  lake  (Sandusky  Bay),  to  Lake  Erie, 
on  the  west  and  northioest,  and  Lake  Erie,  on 
the  north."  These  Ijoundaries  contain  the 
cessions  of  lands  made  to  the  Delaware  Nation 
by  the  Wyandotts,  the  Hurons,  and  Iroquois. 
The  Delawares,  after  Gen.  Wayne's  signal 
victory  in  1794,  came  to  realize  that  further 
contests  with  the  American  colonies  would  be 
worse  than  useless.  They,  therefore,  submit- 
ted to  the  inevitable,  acknowledged  the  su- 
premacy of  the  whites,  and  desired  to  make 
peace  with  the  victors.  At  tlie  close  of  the 
treaty  at  Greenville,  made  in  1795  by  Gen. 
Wayne,  Bu-kon-ge-he-las,  a  Delaware  chief 
of  great  inOuence  in  his  tribe,  spoke  as  fol- 
lows: "Father,  your  children  all  well  under- 
stand the  sense  of  the  treaty  which  is  now 
concluded.     We  experience    daily  proofs  of 


26 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


your  increasing  kindness.  I  hope  we  mav  all 
have  sense  enough  to  enjoy  our  dawning 
happiness.  All  who  know  me,  know  me  to 
be  a  man  and  a  warrior,  and  I  now  declare 
that  I  will,  for  the  future,  be  as  steady  and 
true;  friend  to  the  United  States  as  I  have, 
heretofore,  been  an  active  enemy." 

This  promise  of  Bu-kon-ge-he-las  was 
faithfully  kept  by  his  people.  They  evaded 
all  the  eiforts  of  the  Shawanee  prophet,  Te- 
cumseh,  and  the  British,  who  endeavored  to 
induce  them,  by  threats  or  bribes,  to  violate 
it.  They  remained  faithful  to  the  United 
States  during  the  war  of  1812,  and,  with  the 
Shawaneos,  furnished  some  very  able  war- 
riors and  scouts,  who  rendered  valuable  serv- 
ice to  the  United  States  during  this  war. 
After  the  Greenville  treaty  the  great  body  of 
Delavvares  removed  to  their  lands  on  White 
River,  Indiana,  whither  some  of  their  people 
had  preceded  them,  while  a  large  body  of 
them  crossed  the  Wabash  into  Southern  Illi- 
nois. They  continued  to  reside  on  White 
River  and  the  Wabash,  and  their  branches, 
until  1819,  when  most  of  them  joined  the 
band  emigrating  to  Missouri,  upon  the  tract 
of  land  granted  by  the  Spanish  authorities  in 
1793,  jointly  to  them  and  the  Shawanese. 
Others  of  their  number  who  remained  behind, 
scattered  themselves  among  the  Miamis, 
Pottavratomies  and  Kickapoos,  while  others, 
including  the  Moravian  converts,  went  to 
Canada. 

The  majority  of  the  nation,  in  1829,  settled 
on  the  Kansas  and  Missouri  Rivers.  They 
numbered  about  1,000,  were  brave,  enterpris- 
ing hunters,  cultivated  lands  and  were 
friendly  to  the  whites.  In  1853  they  sold  the 
Government  all  the  lands  granted  them,  ex- 
cepting a  reservation  in  Kansas.  During  the 
late  Rebellion,  they  sent  to  the  United  States 
army  170  out  of  their  200  able-bodied  men. 
Like  their  ancestors,  they  proved  valiant  and 
trustworthy    soldiers. 


The  Kickapoos,  who  also  dwelt  in  this  por- 
tion of  the  State,  were  but  a  remnant  of  a 
once  powerful  tribe  of  Indians.  The  follow- 
ing bit  of  history  contains  some  items  of  in- 
terest: In  1763  the  Kickapoos  occupied  the 
country  southwest  of  the  southern  e.xtremity 
of  Lake  Michigan.  They  subsequently 
moved  further  south,  and  at  a  more  recent 
date  dwelt  in  portions  of  the  territory  on  the 
Mackinaw  and  Sangamon  Rivers,  and  had  a 
village  on  Kickapoo  Creek,  and  at  Elkhart 
Grove,  from  which  they  roamed  southward 
hunting  game.  They  were  more  civilized, 
industrious,  energetic  and  cleanly  than  the 
neighboring  tribes,  and,  it  may  also  be  added, 
more  implacable  in  their  hatred  of  the  Amer- 
icans. They  were  among  the  first  to  com- 
mence battle,  and  the  last  to  submit  and 
enter  into  treaties.  Unappeasable  enmity 
led  them  into  the  field  against  Gens.  Harmar, 
St.  Clair  and  Wayne,  and  to  be  first  in  all 
the  bloody  charges  on  the  field  of  Tip- 
pecanoe. They  were  prominent  among  the 
Northern  Nations,  which,  for  more  than  a 
century,  waged  an  exterminating  war  against 
the  Illinois  Confederacy.  Their  last  hostile 
act  of  this  kind  was  perpetrated  in  1805, 
against  some  poor  Kaskaskia  children  whom 
they  found  gathering  strawberries  on  the 
prairie  above  the  town  which  bears  the  name 
of  their  tribe.  Seizing  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  them,  they  fled  to  their  villages  before 
the  enraged  Kaskaskias  could  overtake  them 
and  rescue  their  offspring.  During  the  \'ears 
1810  and  1811,  iij  conjunetion  with  the  Chip- 
pew.is,  Pottawatomies  and  Ottawas,  they 
committed  so  many  thefts  and  murders  on 
the  frontier  settlements  that  Gov.  Edwards 
was  compelled  to  employ  military  force  to 
suppress  them.  When  removed  from  Illi- 
nois they  still  retained  their  old  animosities 
against  the  Americans,  and  went  to  Texas, 
then  a  province  of  Mexico,  to  get  beyond 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States. 


~T* 


'  W    I 


lOj  V(  fytl-JL  Coi-VhyP  L^iyO 


CHAPTER    III.* 

SETTLEMENT  OF  THE  COUNTY  BY  WHITE  PEOPLE-THE    EARLY   FRENCH  EXPLORERS- 
THEIK  CLAIM  TO  ILLINOIS-GEN.  CLARK'S  EXPEDITION   TO    KASKASKIA-EMI- 
GRANTS  FROM  THE  STATES-FORT  LAMOTTE  AND    THE  RANGERS— 
THE  CULLOMS  AND  OTHER  PIONEERS-THE  HUTSON  FAM- 
ILY—THEIR   MURDER   BY    INDIANS-PIONEER 
LIFE— HARDSHIPS    AND    DANGERS 
OF  THE  WILDERNESS,  ETC. 


'  As  some  lone  wanderer  o'er  this  weary  world 

Oft  sits  him  down  beneath  some  friendly  shade, 
And  backward  casts  a  long  and  lingering  look 
O'er  the  rough  journey  he  has  thus  far  made 
So  should  we  pause " 

AS  the  Indians  succeeded  the  Mound  Build- 
ers in  this  territory,  so  the  Anglo-Saxons 
followed  close  in  the  footsteps  of  the  retreat- 
ing savages.  The  first  white  people  who  laid 
claim  to  the  country  now  embraced  in  tiie 
State  of  Illinois  were  subjects  of  vine-clad 
France.  The  interest  which  attaches  to  all 
that  is  connected  with  the  explorations  and 
discoveries  of  the  early  French  travelers  in 
th(^  Northwest  but  incr(!ases  with  the  rolling 
years.  A  little  more  than  two  centuries  ago, 
such  men  as  ^Marquette,  La  Salle,  Joliet,  De 
Frontenac,  Hennepin,  the  Chevalier  de  Trull, 
Ciiarlevoix,  and  other  Frenchmen,  traversed 
the  territory  now  embraced  in  the  great  State 
of  Illinois,  and  made  settlements  along  the 
Mississippi,  Illinois  and  Wabash  Rivers.  Upon 
many  trees  and  stones  were  to  be  seen  the 
impress  of  thojieur  de  lis  of  France,  and  Kas- 
kaskia,  Cahokia  and  Vincennes  became  enter- 
prising French  towns,  surrounded  by  flourish- 
ing settlements.  The  sainted  Marquette  dis- 
covered the  "  Great  Fatlier  of  Waters,"  and 
spent  years  of  toil   and    labor  and  privation 

*By  W.  H.  Perrin. 


in  explorations,  and  in  christianizing  the  na- 
tives, then  laid  down  his  life,  with  no  kind 
hand  to  "  smooth  his  dying  pillow,"  other 
than  his  faithful  Indian  converts.  La  Salle 
penetrated  to  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  there,  on  the  shores  of  the  Mexican  Gulf, 
alter  planting  the  royal  standard  of  France, 
and  claiming  the  country  in  the  name  of  his 
king,  was  basely  and  treacherously  murdered 
by  his  own  followers. 

For  almost  a  hundred  years  (from  1080)  this 
country  was  under  French  dominion.  But  in 
the  great  struggle  between  France  and  Eng- 
land, known  in  our  history  as  the  "old  French 
and  Indian  War,"  it  was  wrested  from  France, 
and  at  the  treaty  of  Paris,  February  16,  1763, 
she  relinquished  to  England  all  the  territory 
she  claimed  east  of  the  Mississippi  River, 
from  its  source  to  Bayou  Iberville;  and  "the 
Illinois  country"  passed  to  the  ownership  of 
Great  Britain.  Less  than  a  quarter  of  a  cent- 
ury passed,  however,  and  England  was  dis- 
possessed of  it  by  her  naughty  child,  who  had 
grown  somewhat  unfdial.  In  1778,  Gen. 
Georire  Rogers  Clark,  a  Revolutionary  officer 
of  bravery  and  renown,  with  a  handful  of  the 
ragged  soldiers  of  freedom,  under  commission 
from  the  governor  of  Virginia,  conquered  the 
country,  and  the  banner  of  the  thirteen  colonies 
floated  in  the  breeze  for  the  first  time  on  the 
banks  of  the  Mississippi.     Thus  in  the  natural 


30 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


course  of  events,  the  lilies  of  France  drooped 
and  wilted  before  the  majestic  tread  of  the 
British  lion,  who,  in  his  turn,  quailed  and 
cowered  beneath  the  scream  of  the  American 
eao-le.  The  conquest  of  Gen.  Clark  made 
Illinois  a  county  of  Virginia,  and  wrested  it 
forever  from  foreign  rule.  This  acquisition 
of  territory  lirought  many  adventurous  indi- 
viduals hither,  and  southern  Illinois  soon  be- 
came the  great  center  of  attraction.  But  a 
few  years  after  Clark  captured  Vincennes 
and  kaskaskia,  emigrants  began  to  cross  the 
Wabash,  and  to  contest  the  red  man's  title  to 
these  fertile  lands. 

As   to   the  motives  which    set   journeying 
hither   so  many  people  from  the  States  south 
of  the  Ohio,  we  confess  to  have   been  moder- 
ately curious,    until    fully    enlightened    by   a 
thorough  investigation.     Many  of  them   had 
not  reached   life's    meridian,   but  they  were 
men    inured   to  toil  and  danger.     They  were 
hopeful,  courageous,  and  poor  in  actual  worth, 
but  rich  in  possibilities;  men  with  iron  nerves, 
and  wills  as  firm  as  the    historic  granite  upon 
which  the  Pilgrim  Fathers    stepped  from   the 
deck  of  the  Mayflower,  in  1020.    Illinois  was  a 
territory  when  the  first  settlers  came,  reposing 
under  the  famous  ordinance  of  1787,  and  many 
of  these  pioneers  have  left  their  record,  that 
they  sought  homes  here  because  the  land  would 
not  be  blemished    by  negro  slavery;  or,  that 
civil  and  social  distinctions  would   be  yielded 
only  to  those    who    owned  "  niggers."     A  fat 
soil,  ready  for    the    plow,  cheap    lands  and  a 
temperate  climate,  were  not    peculiar  to  Illi- 
nois, or  to  Crawford  County.     For  the  grand 
simplicity    of   their    lives    and    their    sturdy 
virtue,  these    early    settlers    got    recognition 
and  fame,  as  Enoch    Arden  did — after  death. 
They  had    been   brought    up,  many  of  them, 
amid    "  savage    scenes    and    perils    of    war," 
where  the  yell  of  the  Indian  and  the  howl  of 
the    wolf   were    the    principal    music    to  lull 
them  to  sleep  in  their   childhood  and   youtii. 


Such  were  the  men  who  formed  the  advance 
guard — the  picket  line  of  the  grand  army  of 
emigrants  that  were  to  follow,  and  people 
and  improve  the  great  northwest.  They  ac- 
complished the  task  assigned  them,  and  have 
passed  away.  The  last  of  the  old  guard  are 
gone,  and  many  of  their  children,  too,  have 
followed  them  to  that  "  bourne  whence  no 
traveler  returns." 

We  can    not    write    history  as  a  blind  man 
goes  about  the  streets,  feeling  his  way  with  a 
stick.     The  facts  are  transparent,  and  through 
them  we  catch    gleams  of   other  facts,  as  the 
raindrop  catches  light,  and  the  beholder  sees 
the    splendor    of   the    rainbow.     We    are    to 
speak    of   common    men,    whose    lot    was  to 
plant  civilization    here,  and  who,  in  doing  it, 
displayed   the  virtues  which   render    modern 
civilization    a   boast  and  a  blessing.     These  . 
early  times  can    not    be    reproduced    by  any 
prose   of  a   historian.     They  had  a  thousand 
years    behind    them,  and  in  their  little  space 
of  time  they  made  greater    progress  than   ten 
centuries  had    witnessed.     Theirs    was  a  full 
life;  the   work   thirty   generations   had    not 
done,  they  did,  and  the    abyss  between  us  of 
to-day  and   the  men  of  seventy-five  years  ago 
is  wider  and  more  profound    than    the  chasm 
between    1815    and   the    battle    of  Hastings. 
They  did  so  much  that  it  is  hard  to  recognize 
the  doers;  they  had  a  genius  for  doing  great 
things.     That   olive   leaf  in   the  dove's   beak 
perished   as  do   other  leaves,  but  the  story  it 
told    is    immortal.     Of   their    constancy,  one 
can  judge  by  the  fact  that  none  went  back  to 
their  ancestral  homes.     They  "builded  wiser 
than  they  knew,"  and  the  monuments  of  their 
enernry  and    perseverance  still   stand   in  per- 
petuation of  their  memory. 

The  only  history  worth  writing  is  the  his- 
tory of  civilization,  of  the  processes  which 
made  a  State.  For  men  are  but  as  coral, 
feeble,  insignificant,  working  out  of  sight, 
but   they    transmit   some   occult   quality   or_ 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


31 


'power,  upheave  society,  until  from  the  moral 
and  intellectual  plateau  rises,  as  Saul,  above 
his  fellows,  a  Shakespeare,  a  Phidias  or  a 
lliimilton,  the  royal  interpreters  of  the  finest 
sense  in  poetry,  in  art  and  statesmanship. 
At  the  last,  years  color  life  more  than  cent- 
uries had,  as  the  sun  rises  in  an  instant, 
tiioutrh  he  had  beeu  hours  in  hastening  to 
this   moment. 

The  French,  as  we  have  shown,  were  the 
first  white  people  who  possessed  this  country. 
The  first  regular  settlements  made  in  the 
present  county  of  Crawford,  were  in  and 
around  Palestine.  There  is  a  tradition,  that 
the  first  settlers  found  an  old  Frenchman 
named  Lamotte,  living  near  the  margin  of  the 
prairie  which  still  bears  his  name.  But  little, 
however,  is  known  of  him,  or  hia  residence 
here.  One  fact  there  is,  which  is  borne  out 
by  the  records  of  the  county,  that  Lamotte 
owned  considerable  lands  on  this  side  of  the 
Wabash,  but  whether  he  lived  here  is  by 
some  deemed  problematical.  As  Vincennes 
was,  however,  a  French  town,  from  whence 
many  of  its  people  came  into  Illinois,  there  is 
no  just  ground  for  controverting  the  state- 
ment that  Lamotte  actually  lived  in  what  is 
now  Crawford  County,  especially  when  we 
reflect  that  Lamotte  Prairie,  Lamotte  Creek 
and  Fort  Lamotte,  the  latter  the  site  of  Pal- 
estine, all  bear  his  name.  There  were  a  few 
French  families  among  the  early  settlers  of 
the  county,  but  eventually  we  believe  most  of 
them  returned  to  the  east  bank  of  the  Wa- 
bash, or  removed  to  Kaskaskia  and  St.  Louis. 

It  is  not  known  with  perfect  certaintv  at 
the  present  day,  who  was  tha  first  actual  set- 
tler from  the  States  to  locate  within  the  pres- 
ent limits  of  the  county.  The  first  deed  re- 
corded in  the  clerk's  office  is  dated  December 
10,  ISlO,  and  is  from  .John  Dunlap,  of  Edwards 
County,  to  Samuel  Harris,  but  it  is  beyond 
dispute  that  there  was  a  considerable  settle- 
ment here  several  years    prior    to    that    time. 


The  following  families,  so  far  as  we  can  learn, 
were  among  the  first  settlers:  The  Eatons, 
Van  Winkles,  McGahoys, '  Kitchells,  Wood- 
worths,  Culloms,  Woods,  Isaac  Hutson,  Dr. 
Hill,  the  Lagows,  Brimberrys,  Wilsons,  Wal- 
drops,  Piersons,  Houstons,  Kennedys  and  the 
Newlins.  The  Eatons  are  believed  to  have 
been  here  as  early  as  1809,  and  very  gener- 
ally admitted  to  have  been  the  first  actual 
settlers  though  no  one  can  definitely  settle  the 
point  now.  There  were  Benjamin,  Joseph, 
John,  Stephen  and  Richard  Eaton.  They 
were  genuine  pioneers  and  frontiersmen,  and 
were  in  the  fort  at  Palestine.  They  dis- 
agreed with  some  of  the  other  inmates  of  the 
fort,  withdrew  from  it  and  built  another  fort 
at  some  distance,  which  received  the  name 
of  Fort  Foot,  in  consequence  of  the  fact  that 
the  Eatons  possessed  extraordinarily  large 
feet.  The  McGaheys  (Allen  and  David)  are 
supposed  to  have  come  to  the  country  in 
iS09  or  ])erhaps  in  1810;  Dan  and  Green 
Van  Winkle  also  came  about  1810;  the 
Woods  in  1811,  and  Hutson  in  1812.  Isaac, 
Joseph  and  William  Pierson  came  perhaps 
the  same  year.  The  others  mentioned  all 
came  in  early — prior  to  1818,  and  several  of 
them  became  prominent  in  the  history  of  the 
county,  as  more  particularly  detailed  in  other 
chapters  of  this  volume.  Woodworth  was 
the  second  sheriff  of  the  county;  the  Mc- 
Gaheys served  in  the  legislature  and  in  other 
positions,  while  the  Lagows  and  Houstons 
were  also  active  citizens,  as  elsewhere  noticed. 
The  Kitchells  were  perhaps  the  most  prom- 
inent among  the  early  families  in  the  county. 
The  names  of  Joseph  and  Wickliffe  Kitchell 
are  not  only  connected  with  the  history  of  this 
county,  but  with  that  of  the  State.  They 
were  from  Virginia  and  possessed  much  of 
the  social  qualities  and  cordiality  of  manners 
characteristic  of  the  old  Virginia  type  of 
gentleman.  As  Attorney-General  of  the 
State,  in  the    State    Senate    and    legislature. 


HISTORY  OF   CRAWFORD  COUNT V. 


and  in  the  land  office,  they  left  their  impress. 
More  will  be  said  of  them  in  connection  with 
the  court  and  bar. 

Edward  N.  Cullom,  next  to  the  Kitchells, 
was  one  of  the  most  prominent  of  the  early 
settlers,  and  has  a  son,  Leonard  D.  Cullom, 
still  livincr  in  Lawrenceville,  111.  Mr.  Cul- 
lom landed  at  Palestine  November  25,  1814, 
or  rather  at  Fort  Lamotte,  where  Palestine 
now  stands.  We  are  informed  by  Mr.  Leon- 
ard Cullom,  whom  we  visited  at  his  home  in 
Lawrenceville,  that  when  his  father's  family 
arrived  at  Fort  Lamotte,  there  were  then 
within  its  protecting  walls  twenty-six  fami- 
lies, and  ninety  rangers,  who  were  stationed 
there  for  the  purpose  of  guarding  these  isolat- 
ed settlers.  This  blockhouse  or  fort  had  been 
erected  here  about  the  commencement  of  the 
war  of  1812,  and  the  rangers  quartered  in  it 
were  under  the  command  of  Capt.  Pierce 
Andrew,  a  frontier  officer.  Mr.  Cullom  now 
only  remembers,  among  those  living  in  the 
fort,  the  following  families:  Isaac  and  Sam- 
uel Brimberry,  Thomas  and  James  Kennedy, 
the  Batons,  the  Shaws,  .Joseph  Waldrop  and 
two  sons — William  and  .John — the  Garrards, 
the  Woods,  David  Shook  and  a  man  named 
Harding.  The  latter  was  "  skin  dresser,"  and 
a  rather  disagreeable  man  in  his  family.  Mr. 
Cullom  calls  to  mind  a  circumstance  in  which 
Harding  figured  conspicuously,  in  the  day> 
when  they  were  "forted."  Harding,  for 
whipping  his  wife,  was  taken  by  the  rangers 
and  shut  up  in  his  "  skin-house,"  a  house 
■where  he  was  in  the  habit  of  smoking  and 
drying  his  skins,  and  put  through  much  the 
same  process  for  indulging  in  such  family 
pastimes. 

Edward  N.  Cullom  eame  from  Waj'ne 
County,  Ky.,  making  the  trip  in  wagons,  the 
principal  mode  of  transportation  at  that  time. 
He  raised  a  number  of  stalwart  sons,  some  of 
whom  were  prominent  men  as  well  as  their 
father  in  the    county.       They    were    Francis, 


William,  Leonard  D.,  Edward  N.,  Thomas 
F.,  and  George  W.  Leonard  was  14  years 
old  when  his  father  came  to  the  county,  and 
George  W.  was  the  only  one  of  his  sons  born 
in  the  new  home. 

Mr.  Cullom  was  a  man  of  considerable 
prominence  in  the  county,  and  served  in  a 
number  of  responsible  positions.  When  he 
came  here  he  bought  the  land  on  which  the 
fort  stood  (including  the  improvement  on  it) 
for  $4.1(5  per  acre.  The  improvement  had 
been  made  by  Brimberry.  He  bought  and 
entered  other  lands  until  he  owned  several 
thousand  acres.  The  first  summer  Cullom 
raised  a  large  crop  of  corn,  and  the  winter  fol- 
lowing he  loaded  a  flat  boat  with  corn,  and 
took  it  to  New  Orleans.  It  was  the  first  boat 
that  ever  went  out  of  the  Wabash  River  from 
the  Illinois  side.  He  paid  S150  for  the  boat, 
and  at  New  Orleans,  sold  it  and  the  cargo  for 
$1,:S00  in  money;  then  made  his  %vay  home 
overland  through  the  "  Indian  Nation,"  as  it 
was  then  known.  His  money  was  in  two 
$500  "post  notes,"  as  they  were  called,  or 
bank  drafts,  and  the  remainder  in  specie. 
That  was  an  enormous  sum  of  money  lor  those 
days,  and  Cullom  was  considered  a  very  rich 
man.  He  laid  it  out  mostly  in  lands,  and  be- 
came one  of  the  largest  land  owners  in  South- 
ern Illinois.  In  later  years,  however,  he  lost 
the  large  part  of  it  by  going  the  security  of 
others,  and  died  comparatively  a  poor  man. 

The  following  comjirises  many  of  the  early 
settlers  of  the  county,  though  it  is  by  no  means 
a  complete  list:  Edward  N.  Cullom  and  his 
sons,  John  Dunlap,  Edward  H.  Piper,  Joseph 
Malcom,  John  Malcom,  George  W.  Kinkade, 
Joseph  Cheek,  Isaac  Moore,  James  Gibson, 
Thomas  Gill,  John  Cowan,  Thomis  Handj', 
William  Lockard,  John  Allison,William  How- 
ard, Charles  Neely,  George  Catron,  James 
Caldwell,  James  Ray,  Isaac  Parker,  Arthur 
Jones,  James  Shaw,  Smith  Shaw,  S.  B.  A.  Car- 
ter, Chester  Fitch,  David  Porter,  Jan  Martin,  J. 


IIISTOUV  OF  CRAWFOUD  COUNTY. 


Gallon,  John  Garrard,  Ulialkev  Draper,  Joha 
Berry,  Isaac  Gain,  George  W.  Carter,  John 
Mills,  ^yillialn  Hugh  Miller,  Jacob  Blaze, 
William  Y.  Hacket,  James  Gill,  Abram  Coon- 
rod,  William  Lowe,  Seth  Gard,  Peter  Keene, 
Samuel  Harris,  William  Ashbrook,  John  Gif- 
I'ord,  Asahel  Haskins,  William  Barber,  John 
Small,  Thomas  Westfall,  D.  Mcllenry,  Jona- 
than Young,  E.  W.  Kellogg,  Al.irk  Snipes, 
Samuel  Baldy,  John  H.  Jackson,  James  Dol- 
son,  Thomas  Trimble,  David  Stewart,  Aaron 
Ball,  Henry  Gilliam,  Daniel  Funk,  Enoch 
^V'ilhite,  Ze])haniah  Lewis,  John  Cobb,  Will- 
iam Jones,  John  Sackrider,  Jacob  Helping- 
steine,  George  Calhoun,  William  Highsmith, 
Jeremiah  Coleman,  William  McDowell,  James 
Boatwright,  Daniel  Boatwright,  John  W.  Bar- 
low, Bottsl'ord  (^omstock,  George  Boher,  JojI 
Phelps,  Cornelius  Taylor,  William  Gray, 
George  Wesner,  John  C.  Alexander,  William 
Magill,  Benjamin  Myers,  John  Boyd,  Asa 
Norton,  Sewell  Goo^lrich,  etc.,  etc.  These 
])ioneors  will  receive  ample  notic3  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  several  townships  of  the  county. 
The  settlement  has  been  given  in  this  connec- 
tion in  a  general  way,  but  in  other  chapters  it 
will  be  more  fully  noticed.  Our  aim  here  has 
been  merely  to  show  the  different  possessors 
of  the  soil,  and  the  succession  in  which  they 
followed  each  other. 

When  the  first  settlements  were  made  in 
this  region,  there  were  still  many  Indians 
roaming  through  the  country,  as  stated  in  a 
previous  chapter.  They  were  generally 
friendly  toward  tHe  whites,  except  for  a 
short  period  during  the  war  of  1813,  when 
they  became  somewhat  excited  and  com- 
mitted depredations  upon  the  whites,  such 
as  stealing  horses  and  other  stock,  and  in  a 
few  instances,  murdering  their  pale-faced 
neighbors.  The  saddest  instance  of  this  kind 
that  ever  occurred  in  what  is  now  Crawford 
County,  was  the  mur  ler  of  the  Hutson  fam- 
ily, who  lived  a  few  miles  south  from    where 


Hutsonville  now  stands,  and  which  was 
somewhat  as  follows:  Isaac  Hutson  was  a 
native  of  Oliio  and  removed  from  Chillicothe 
in  1811  to  Indiana,  locating  in  the  present 
counly  of  Sullivan,  and  in  what  is  now  Tur- 
man  Township.  Indians  were  plenty  in  that 
region,  and  some  of  them  were  hostile.  A 
block-house  or  rude  fort  was  erected  in  the 
Turman  settlement  for  the  protection  of  the 
few  whites  then  living  there.  Hutson,  one 
day,  crossed  the  river  and  visited  the  section 
now  known  as  Lamotte  prairie;  and  being 
attracted  by  its  beauty  and  fertility,  resolved 
to  at  once  move  hither.  Accordingly,  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  winter  of  1813  he  built  a 
cabin  at  the  north  end  of  the  prairie,  to  which 
he  moved  his  family  in  the  spring.  A  man 
named  Dixon  settled  near  bj',  about  the  same 
time.  Hutson  at  once  began  preparations  for 
a  crop.  His  family  consisted  of  a  wife  and 
six  children,  the  eldest  a  girl  of  perhaps  six- 
teen. One  day  in  April,  Hutson  went  to  Pal- 
estine to  mill,  and  did  not  get  started  for 
home  until  nightfall.  When  about  half  wav 
to  his  cabin,  he  noticed  an  unusual  light  in 
the  direction  of  it.  Fearing  the  worst,  he 
threw  his  sack  of  meal  from  his  horse  and 
urged  him  forward  at  full  speed.  Upon  near- 
ing  his  house,  his  worst  fears  were  realized. 
His  entire  family  had  been  murdered  by  a  band 
of  Indians;  and  to  complete  the  ruin  and  des- 
olation, they  had  sot  fire  to  his  dwelling. 
Frantic  with  grief  and  despair,  he  rode  sev- 
eral times  around  the  ruins,  calling  wildly  the 
names  of  his  wife  and  children.  There  was 
no  one  left  to  tell  the  bereaved  father  how 
his  loved  ones  had  perished.  He  could 
only  realize  the  heart-sickening  truth  that 
all  had  perished.  A  few  roc's  from  the 
burning  building,  lay  the  body  of  Dix- 
on, mutilated  almost  beyond  rccog  h.on. 
His  breast  had  been  cut  o[)en  and  his  heart 
taken  out  and  placed  upon  a  pole  which 
was  planted  in  the  ground  near  by.     Satisfy- 


34 


HISTORY   OF  cmAWFORD  COUNTY. 


ing  himself  that  the  havoc  was  complete, 
Hutson  made  his  way  to  Turmaii's,  havino; 
swam  the  Wabash,  which  place  he  reached 
about  midnight. 

Hutson  was  a  fine  type  of  the  frontiers- 
man. He  was  above  six  feet  high,  a  man  of 
great  strength  and  possessed  of  extraordinary 
powers  of  endurance.  He  was  an  adven- 
turer and  knew  no  law  beyond  his  own  will 
and  his  own  ideas  of  right.  Having  lost  all 
for  which  he  cared  to  live,  he  swore  revenge; 
and  to  this  end,  joined  the  army  at  Fort  Har- 
rison, near  where  Terre  Haute  now  stands. 
Shortly  after  he  had  joined  the  army,  one  of 
the  sentinels  reported  that  he  had  seen  an 
Indian  in  the  grass,  some  half  a  mile  below 
the  fort.  A  party  was  sent  out  to  recon- 
noiter,  among  whom  was  Hutson.  Arrived 
at  the  designated  spot,  it  was  discovered  that 
quite  a  party  of  savages  had  been  there  dur- 
ing the  previous  night.  The  trail  led  off  to 
a  thicket  of  brush  wood  a  short  distance 
away.  The  officer  in  command  rashly  deter- 
mined to  make  an  attack,  without  any  attemjjt 
to  discover  the  exact  wliereabouts  of  the  en- 
emy, or  their  number  and  position.  Hutson 
was  placed  in  the  front,  but  distrusting  the 
speed  and  power  of  his  horse,  asked  an- 
otlier  position.  The  officer  reproached  him 
with  cowardice,  when  Hutson  dashed  for- 
ward, calling  on  the  men  to  follow,  declaring 
that  he  could  go  where  any  one  else  could, 
and  leaving  the  officer  in  the  rear.  Upon 
approaching  the  wood,  they  were  fired  on, 
and  Hutson  receiving  a  ball  in  the  forehead, 
fell  from  his  horse  dead. 

The  name  of  Hutson  is  preserved  in  the 
beautiful  little  town  of  Hutsonville,  and  of 
Hutson  Creek,  which  flows  near  by  where  he 
had  reared  his  lonely  cabin. 

Another  incident  is  related  of  a  man 
named  James  Beard,  being  murdered  by 
Indians  in  that  portion  of  the  county  now 
embraced  in  Lawrence  County,  just  about  the 


close  of  the  war  of  1813.  Beard  was  plow- 
ing in  the  field  one  day,  anil  the  Indians 
having  become  incensed  at  him  for  some 
cause  stole  upon  him,  and  shot  him  at  his 
plow.  Beard,  who  was  a  large  man,  ran  to 
where  one  Adams,  a  nephew,  was  cutting 
bushes,  and  told  him  he  was  shot,  when 
Adams,  notwithstanding  the  giant  size  of 
Beard,  picked  him  up  and  carried  him  to  the 
house.  A  Frenchman  named  Pierre  Devoe, 
lived  near  by,  and  when  asked  to  go  and 
help  guard  Beard's  house  during  the  night  he* 
refused.  His  wife,  a  large  and  rather  mascu- 
line looking  woman,  when  her  husband  re- 
fused, declared  she  would  go,  and  taking  up 
an  ax  called  out  to  "  Come  on,"  she  "  was 
ready."  But  the  Indians  made  no  further 
attack  on  the  house. 

Mr.  Leonard  Cullom  relates  the  following: 
During  the  time  of  "forting"  at  Palestine, 
Isaac  Brimberry  and  Thomas  Kennedy,  who 
generally  went  by  the  name  of  the  "  Buck- 
eye Coopers,"  went  up  to  "  Africa's  Point," 
as  it  was  called,  on  the  Wabash,  after  some 
timber.  They  discovered  signs  of  Indians 
and  went  back  to  the  fort  and  reported  the 
same,  when  a  squad  of  men  was  sent  out  to 
look  after  them.  They  divided  into  two  par- 
ties, one  going  on  in  advance  and  the  other 
acting  as  a  reserve  corps.  When  near  the 
spot  where  the  signs  had  been  seen,  they 
found  a  number  of  Indian  canoes  pulled  up 
out  of  the  water.  Instead  of  consolidating 
their  numliers  and  proceeding  with  caution, 
the  foremost  party  kept  on  fully  exposed,  and 
were  soon  fired  upon  by  the  savages.  Lathrop, 
Price,  and  Daniel  Eaton  were  killed,  and  Job 
Eaton  and  John  Waldrop  were  wounded,  but 
succeeded  in  escaping  and  making  their  way 
back  to  the  fort.  The  "rear  guard,"  when 
they  heard  the  firing,  instead  of  going  to  the  as- 
sistance of  their  comrades,  "fell  back  in  good 
order,"  and  returned  to  the  fort,  conscious 
that  discretion  was  the  better  part  of  valor. 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


35 


Such  were  some  of  the  trials  anil  dangers 
to  which  the  early  settlers  were  exposed,  in 
the  development  of  this  country.  But  upon 
the  close  of  the  war  of  1812,  the  savages  of 
southern  Illinois  buried  the  hatchet,  and 
peace  reigned  among  the  scattered  settle- 
ments. Though  the  savages  rose  in  other 
sections  of  the  State,  and  clouds  of  war 
gathered  in  the  horizon,  they  rolled  away 
without  bursting  upon  this  community. 
When  peace  was  fully  restored  to  the  country 
in  1815,  the  population  began  to  rapidly  in- 
crease in  the  Wabash  Valley,  and  gradually 
to  extend  out  over  the  country.  In  subse- 
quent chapters  the  progress  of  these  settle- 
ments, as  we  have  already  stated,  will  be 
fully  detailed,  together  with  all  events  of  in- 
terest pertaining  to  them. 

The  Indian  troubles  were  not  the  only 
drawbacks  met  with  in  the  early  history  of 
Crawford  County.  The  settlers  were  mostly 
poor,  and  all  had  come  here  with  the  desire 
to  better  their  fortunes.  They  came  with  a 
meager  outfit  of  this  world's  goods,  expecting 
to  increase  their  stores  and  provide  a  home 
for  their  old  age.  Some  came  in  frontier 
wagons  drawn  by  horses  or  oxen,  and  some 
used  the  more  primitive  "  pack-horse  "  as  a 
means  of  transporting  their  limited  posses- 
sions. The  journey  was  one  of  toil  and  pri- 
vation at  best.  There  were  no  well  beaten 
highways,  no  bridges  over  the  streams,  but 
each  emigrant  followed  the  general  trail.  If 
the  season  was  one  of  much  rain,  the  swamps 
they  were  compelled  to  cross,  were  almost 
impassable;  if  dry,  the  roads  were  rough,  and 
water  scarce.  But  the  emigrant  could  endure 
trial,  hunger  and  pain,  if  a  home  stood  at  the 
end  of  his  journey,  beck(jning  him  on.  Faith 
and  hope  are  two  anchors  without  which  the 
poor  mortal  would  be  cheerless  indeed  on 
life's  pathway. 

Thus  the  county  was  settled  under  difficul- 
ties, and  amid  hardships  and  dangers.     But 


the  very  dangers  drew  the  people  closer  to- 
gether, and  made  them  more  de[)endent  upon 
each  other.  All  lived  in  a  state  of  compara- 
tive social  equality,  and  the  only  lines  drawn 
were  to  separate  the  very  bad  from  the  gen- 
eral mass.  The  rich  and  poor  dressed  alike; 
the  men  generally  wearing  hunting-shirts  and 
buckskin  pants,  and  the  women  attired  them- 
selves in  coarse  fabrics  produced  by  their  own 
hands.  The  cabins  were  furnished  in  the 
same  style  and  simplicity.  The  bedsteads 
were  home-made  and  of  rude  material,  and 
the  beds,  usually  filled  with  leaves  and  grass, 
by  honest  toil  were  rendered 

"  Soft  as  downy  pillows  are." 

One  pot,  kettle  and  frying-pan  were  the 
only  articles  considered  indispensable,  and  a 
a  few  plates  and  dishes,  upon  a  shelf  in  one 
corner,  was  as  satisfactory  as  a  cupboard  full 
of  china  is  now,  while  food  was  as  highly 
relished  from  a  slab  table  as  it  is  in  this  fast 
age  from  one  of  oiled  walnut  or  inahogany. 
It  is  true  they  then  had  but  little  to  eat,  but 
it  sustained  life.  Mr.  Cullom  says  they  often 
had  no  bread,  and  he  calls  to  mind  an  in- 
stance, when  his  father's  family,  who  had  been 
without  bread  for  some  time,  took  corn  before 
it  was  sufficiently  matured  to  shell  from  the 
cob,  dried  it  in  the  chimney,  and  grated  it 
into  a  coarse  meal.  From  this  bread  was 
made,  a  "  shoat "  was  killed  for  the  occasion, 
and  with  beech  bark  tea  they  had  quite  a 
feast.  A  neighbor,  who  happened  in,  was 
asked  to  dine  with  tliem,  and  when  dinner 
was  concluded  he  thanked  the  Lord  that  he 
had  had  one  more  good,  square  meal,  but  he 
didn't  know  where  the  next  would  come  from. 
Mrs.  Cullom  gave  him  some  meal  and  a  piece 
of  the  shoat  to  take  home  with  him,  and  he 
went  away  rejoicing. 

But  the  credit  of  subduing  the  wilderness, 
and  planting  civilization  in  the  West,  is  not 
the  work  of  man  alone.     Woman,  the   help- 


30 


HISTORY   OF  CRAWFOBD  qOUNTY. 


meet,  and  guiding  spiiit  of  the  sterner  sex, 
nobly  did  her  part  in  the  great  work.  The 
"hired  girl  "  had  not  then  become  a  class.  In 
case  of  illness — and  there  was  plenty  of  it  in 
the  early  times — some  young  woman  would 
leave  home  for  a  few  days  to  care  for  the 
afflicted  household,  but  her  services  were  not 
rendered  for  the  pay  she  received.  The  dis- 
charge of  the  sacred  duty  to  care  for  the  sick 
was  the  motive,  and  it  was  never  neglected. 
The  accepted  life  of  a  woman  was  to  marry, 
bear  and  rear  children,  prepare  the  household 
food,  spin,  weave  and  make  the  garments  for 
the  family.  Her  whole  life  was  the  grand, 
simple  poem  of  rugged,  toilsome  duty  bravely 
and  uncomplainingly  done.  She  lived  his- 
torj',  and  her  descendants  write  and  read  it 
with  a  proud  thrill,  such  as  visits  the  pilgrim 
when  at  Arlington  he  stands  at  the  base  of  the 
monument  which  covers  the  bones  of  four 
thousand  nameless  men  who  gave  their  blood 
to  preserve  their  country.     Her  work  lives. 


but  her  name  is  whispered  only  in  a  few 
homes.  Holy  in  death,  it  is  too  sacred  for 
open  speech. 

Three  quarters  of  a  century  has  produced 
marvelous  changes,  both  in  country  and  so- 
ciety. In  the  years  that  jjave  come  and  gone 
in  quick  succession,  while  the  panorama  has 
been  unfolding  to  view,  the  verdant  wastes  of 
Crawford  County  have  disappeared,  and  in 
their  place  are  productive  fields,  covered  with 
flocks  and  herds,  and  peopled  with  twenty 
thousand  civilized  and  intelligent  human  be- 
ings. The  Indian  trail  is  obliterated  by  the 
railway  track,  and  the  ox-team  and  the 
"  prairie  schooner  "  are  displaced  by  the  rush- 
ing train.  In  the  grand  march  of  civilization 
and  improvement,  who  can  tell,  or  dare  pre- 
dict what  the  next  fifty  years  may  develop? 
Within  that  period  it  is  not  impossible  tliat 
we  may  be  flying  through  the  air,  as  we  now 
fly  over  the  country  at  the  heels  of  the  iron 
horse. 


CHAPTEE   IV 


ORGANIZATION  OF   THE  COUNTY— ILLINOIS    AS    A    PART   OF   VIRGINIA— DIVIDED  INTO 
COUNTIES— ACT  OF  THE  LEGISLATURE  FORMING  CRAWFORD— NAME  OF  THE  COUN- 
TY—THE   COURTS,  ETC.— LOCATING  THE    SEAT    OF    JUSTICE— AN  INDIAN 
TRIAL— OTHER  COURT  PROCEEDINGS— LIST  OF  OFFICERS  AND  REP- 
RESENTATIVES-COURT   HOUSES  AND  JAILS— CIVIL   DIVIS- 
IONS OF    THE  COUNTY— REMOVAL  OP  THE  COUNTY 
SEAT— TOWNSHIP  ORGANIZATIONS,  ETC.,  ETC. 


"  The  ultimate  tendency  of  civilization  is  toward 
bai-barism. ' ' — Hare. 

THE  General  Assembly  of  Viro;inia,  in  Oc- 
tober, 1778,  passed  an  act  for  "  establish- 
ing the  County  of  Illinois,  and  for  the  more 
efiFectual  protection  and  defense  thereof." 
This  act  declared:  "That  all  the  citizens 
of  this  Commonwealth,  who  are  already  set- 
tled, or  shall  hereafter  settle  on  the  western 
side  of  the  Ohio,  and  east  of  the  Mississippi, 
shall  be  included  in  a  distinct  county,  which 
shall  be  called  Illinois  County."  The  Gov- 
ernor of  Virginia  was  to  appoint  "  a  county 
lieutenant  or  commandant-in-chief,"  who 
should  "appoint  and  commission  so  many 
deputy  commandants,  militia  officers  and 
commissaries,"  as  he  should  deem  expedient, 
for  the  enforcement  of  law  and  order.  The 
civil  officers  were  to  be  chosen  by  a  majority 
of  the  people,  and  were  to  "  exercize  their 
several  jurisdictions,  and  conduct  themselves 
agreeable  to  the  laws  which  the  present  set- 
tlers are  now  accustomed  to."  Patrick  Henry, 
the  first  Governor  of  the  "  Old  Dominion," 
appointed  as  such  county  lieutenant  Com- 
mandant John  Todd,  and  on  December  12, 
1778,  issued  to  him  his  letter  of  appointment 
and  instructions. 

*  By  W.  H.  Perrin. 


From  the  record  book  of  John  Todd's  offi- 
cial acts  while  he  was  exercising  authority 
over  Illinois,  a  book  now  in  the  Chicago  His- 
torical Society,  some  interesting  facts  are 
gleaned  of  the  early  history  of  Illinois.  We 
extract  the  following  from  its  pages: 

Todd  was  not  unknown  on  the  frontier. 
Born  in  Pennsylvania  and  educated  in  Vir- 
ginia, he  had  practiced  law  in  the  latter  Col- 
ony for  several  years,  when,  in  1775,  he  re- 
moved to  Kentucky,  then  a  county  of  Vir- 
ginia, and  became  very  prominent  in  the 
councils  of  its  House  of  Delegates  or  Repre- 
sentatives, the  first  legislative  body  organ- 
ized west  of  the  Alleghany  mountains.  Early 
in  1777,  the  first  court  in  Kentucky  opened 
its  sessions  at  Harrodsburg,  and  he  was  one  of 
the  justices.  Shortly  after,  he  was  chosen 
one  of  the  representatives  of  Kentucky  in 
the  Legislature  of  Virginia  and  went  to  the 
capital  to  fulfill  this  duty.  The  following 
year  he  accompanied  Gen.  George  Rogers 
Clark  in  his  expedition  to  "  the  Illinois,"  and 
was  the  first  man  to  enter  Fort  Gage,  at  Kas- 
kaskia,  when  it  was  taken  from  the  British, 
and  was  present  at  the  final  capture  of  Vin- 
cennes.  ' 

The  act  creating  the  County  of  Illinois  had 
been  passed  by  the  Legislature  of  Vir^-iuia, 
and  at  Williamsburg,  the  capital  then   of  the 


3S 


HISTOUY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUXTY. 


newly  male  State,  in  the  very  inansi.m  of 
the  royal  rulers  of  the  whilom  Colony,  Pat- 
rick H^nry  indited  his  letter  of  appointment 
t )  John  Todil,  and  entered  it  in  the  book 
already  referred  to.  It  occupies  the  first  five 
pages  and  is  in  P.itrick  Henry's  own  hand- 
writing. This  book,  made  precious  by  his 
pen,  was  intrusted  to  a  faithful  messenger, 
who  carried  it  from  tidewater  across  the 
mountains  to  Fort  Pitt,  thence  down  the 
Ohio  until  he  met  with  its  destined  recipient, 
and  delivered  to  him  his  credentials.  It  is 
supposed  that  Todd  received  it  at  Vincennes, 
then  known  to  Virginians  as  St.  Vincent,  not 
long  after  the  surrender  of  that  place  on  the 
SJrth  of  Februarj^  1779,  and  thereupon  as- 
sumed his  new  duties. 

This  old  record  book,  of  itself,  forms  an 
interesting  chapter  in  the  history  of  Illinois; 
but  our  space  will  admit  of  only  a  brief  ex- 
tract or  two  from  its  contents.  The  follow- 
ing is  in  Todd's  own  handwriting,  and  no 
doubt  will  sound  strangelj'  enough  to  many 
of  our  readers  at  the  present  day.  We  give 
it  verbatim  et  literatum,  as  follows: 

"Illinois,  to-wit:  To  Richard  Winston, 
Esq.,  ShurilF  in  chief  of  the  district  of  Kas- 
kaskia. 

"  Negro  Manuel,  a  slave  in  your  custody, 
is  condemned  by  the  Court  of  Kaskaskia, 
after  having  made  honorable  Fine  at  the 
Uoor  of  the  Church,  to  be  chained  to  a  post 
at  the  Water  Side  and  there  to  be  burnt  alive 
and  his  ashes  scattered,  as  appears  to  me  by 
Record.  This  Sentence  you  are  hereby  re- 
quired to  put  in  execution  on  tuesday  next  at 
9  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  this  shall  be 
your  warrant.  Given  under  my  hand  and 
seal  at  Kaskaskia  the  13th  day  of  June  in  the 
third  year  of  the  Commonvrealth." 

It  is  a  grim  record  and  reveals  a  dark 
chapter  in  the  early  history  of  Illinois.  It  is 
startling,  and  somewhat  humiliating,  too,  to 
reflect  that  barely  one    hundred   years  ago, 


that  within  the  territory  now  composing  this 
great  State,  a  court  of  law  deliberately  sen- 
tenced a  human  being  to  be  burnt  alive!  It 
is  palpable  that  the  inhuman  penalty  was 
fi.xed  by  the  court,  ami  as  the  statute  deprived 
tlie  commandant  of  the  power  to  pardon  in 
such  cases,  it  is  probable  that  the  sentence 
was  actually  executed.  The  cruel  form  of 
death,  the  color  of  the  unfortunate  victim, 
and  the  scattering  of  the  ashes,  all  seem  to 
indicate  that  this  was  one  of  the  instances  of 
the  imagined  crime  of  Voudouism,  or  negro 
witchcraft,  for  which  it  is  known  that  some 
persons  suffered  in  the  Illinois  country  in  the 
early  period.  Reynolds,  in  his  "  Pioneer  His- 
tory," recites  a  similar  instance  to  the  one 
above  given,  as  occurring  in  1790,  at  Ca- 
hokia. 

A  few  words  additional,  of  .fohn  Todd, 
the  first  civil  Governor  of  "  the  Illinois 
Country,"  and  we  will  take  up  the  org.iniza- 
tion  of  Crawford  Cpunty.  In  the  spring  of 
1780,  Todd  was  elected  a  delegate  from  the 
County  of  Kentucky  to  the  Legislature  of 
Virginia.  In  November  following,  Kentucky 
was  divided  into  three  counties,  viz.:  Fayette, 
Lincoln  and  Jefferson,  and  in  1781,  Thomas 
Jelfjrson,  who  had  become  Governor  of  Vir- 
ginia, appointed  Todd  Colonel  of  Fayette 
County,  and  Daniel  Boone,  Lieutenant-Col- 
onel. In  the  summer  of  1782,  Todd  visited 
Richmond,  Va.,  on  business  of  the  Illinois 
Country,  where,  it  is  said,  he  had  concluded 
to  reside  permanently,  and  stopped  at  Lex- 
ington, Ky.,  on  his  return.  While  here,  an 
Indian  attack  on  a  frontier  settlement  sum- 
moned the  militia  to  arms,  and  Todd,  as 
senior  colonel,  took  commmd  of  the  little 
army  sent  in  pursuit  of  the  retreating  sav- 
acres.  It  included  Boone  and  many  other 
pioneers  of  note.  At  the  Blue  Licks,  on  the 
18th  of  August,  1783,  they  overtook  the 
enemy,  but  the  headlong  courage  of  those 
who  would  not  follow  the  prudent  counsels  of 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


39 


Todd  and  Boone,  precipitated  an  action  which 
proved  more  disastrous  to  the  whites  than  any 
ever  fouorht  on  Kentucky  soil — that  early 
theater  of  savage  warfare.  One  third  of  those 
who  went  into  the  battle  were  killed  out- 
right, and  many  others  wounded.  Among 
the  slain  was  the  veteran  Todd,  who  fell  gal- 
lantly fighting  at  the  head  of  his  men.  Near 
tiio  spot  where  he  fell,  on  the  brow  of  a 
sin.ill  hill  overlooking  Blue  Licks,  his  re- 
mains repose  under  the  pines.  On  the  18th  of 
August  last  (1882)  the  centennial  of  the  dis- 
astrous battle  of  Blue  Licks  was  held  upon 
the  ground  where  it  was  fought,  and  a  resolu- 
tion adopted  to  erect  a  monument  to  the 
heroes  who  there  fell  in  defense  of  their 
country. 

Gen.  Arthur  St.  Clair,  Governor  of  the 
Northwest  Territory,  in  company  with  the 
Territorial  judges,  went,  in  the  spring  of 
1700,  to  Cahokia,  where,  by  proclamation,  he 
organized  the  County  of  St.  Clair,  the  first 
formed  in  what  now  comprises  the  State  of 
Illinois,  and  its  capital  was  fi.xed  at  Kask:is- 
kia.  Randolph  was  the  next  county  created 
in  Illinois,  and  its  organization  dates  back  to 
179.5.  No  more  counties  were  made  until 
the  session  of  the  Territorial  Legislature  of 
1811-12,  when  there  were  three  formed,  viz.: 
Madison,  Gallatin  and  Johnson.  At  the  ses- 
sion of  1814,  Edwards  was  created,  and  at 
the  session  of  181(3,  AVhite,  Jackson,  Monroe, 
Pope  and  Crawford  were  formed.  At  the 
last  session  of  the  Territorial  Legislature, 
and  previous  to  the  admission  of  Illinois  as 
a  '^tate,  Franklin,  ^^'ashlngton,  Union,  Bond 
an  .  Wayne  Counties  were  organized.  Thus 
it  will  be  seen,  that  Crawford  was  the  elev- 
enth county  formed  in  the  State.  It  is  be- 
lieved to  have  been  named  for  Gen.  William 
Crawford,  a  Revolutionary  soldier,  who  com- 
manded an  expedition  against  the  Wyandot 
Indians  in  the  "Ohio  Country,"  in  17S2;  was 
captured  by  them  and  burned  at  the  stake,  at 


a  spot  included  in  the  original  limits  of 
Crawford  County,  Ohio.  The  act  of  the  Ter- 
ritorial Legislature  for  the  formation  of  this 
county  was  passed  at  the  session  of  1810-17, 
and  is  as  follows: 

An  act  for  the  division  of  Edwards  Conn tv: 
Be  it  enacted    by  the    Legislative    Council 
and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  Illinois 
Territory,  and  it  is    hereby    enacted    bv    the 
authority  of  the  same:  That  all   that   tract  of 
country  within  the   following    boundaries,  to- 
wit:   Beginning  at  the  mouth  of  the   Einbar- 
ras  River,  and  running  with  the  said  River  to 
the  intersection  of  the  line  dividing  Townships 
number  three  and  four  north,  of  range  eleven 
west  of  the  second  principal  meridian;  thence 
west  with  said  town.s/iip  line  to  the  meridian, 
and  then  due  north  until  it  strikes  the  line  of 
Upper  Canada;  thence  to  the   line  that  sepa- 
rates this  Territory  from    the   State   of   Indi- 
ana, and  thence  south  with  said  division  line 
to   the   beginning,  shall  constitute  a  separate 
County,    to    be    called    Crawford;  and    the 
seat  of  justice  shall  be   at   the    house   of   Ed- 
ward N.  Cullom,  until  it  shall  be  perinaniMuly 
established,  in  the  following    method,  that  is: 
Three    persons    shall    be    appointed,    to-wit: 
John  Dun  lap,   Thomas   Handy    and    Thomas 
Kennedy,    which    said    commissioners,    or    a 
majority  of  them,   being   duly   sworn    before 
some  judge  or  justice  of  the   peace    of  this 
Territory,   to    faithfully   take    into    view   the 
situation  of  the    settlements,   the    geography' 
of  the  county,  the  convenience  of  the   people, 
and  the   eligibility   of  the    place,    shall   meet 
on  the  second  .Monday  in  March  next,  at    the 
house  of  Edward  N.  Cullom,  and    proceed  to 
examine  and  determine  on  the   place   for  tiie 
permanent  seat  of  justice,  and    designate  the 
same:  Provided,  the  proprietor  or  proprietors 
of  the  land  shall  give  to  said   county,  for  the 
purpose  of  erecting  public  buildings,  a  quan- 
tity of  land  at  said  place  not  less  than  twenty 
acres,  to  be  laid  out  in  lots    and  sold  for  the 
above  purpose.     But  should  the  said   propri- 
etor or  proprietors  refuse  or  neglect  to  make 
the  said  donation  aforesaid,  then  in   that  case 
it  shall  be  the  duty  of   the    commissioners  to 
fix  upon  soTne  other  place  for  the  seat  of  just- 
ice, as  convenient  as  may  be  to    the  different 
settlements  in  said  county,  which  place,  when 
fixed  and  determiued  on,    the    said    conimis- 


40 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


sioners  shall  certify  under  their  hands  and 
seals,  and  return  the  Siune  to  the  next  county 
court  in  the  county  aforesaid:  and  as  a  com- 
pensation for  their  services,  they  shall  each 
be  al  owed  two  dollars  for  every  day  they  be 
necessarily  employed  in  iixing  the  aforesaid 
seat  of  justice,  to  be  paid  out  of  the  county 
lew,  which  said  court  shall  cause  an  entry 
thereof  to  be  made  on  their  records,  etc.,  etc. 

SETH  GARD, 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  ^i)'o 
tenijiore. 

.       PIERRE  MENARD, 
President  of  the  Legislative  Council. 

Approved,  Deceinl)er  31,  I81G. 

NINIAN  EDWARDS. 

The  remaining  sections  of  the  act,  of  whicli 
there  are  two  or  three,  are  not  pertinent  to 
the  subject  under  consideration.  From  some 
cause,  the  commissioners  did  not  locate  the 
seat  uf  justice  at  the  time  specified  in  the 
foregoing  act,  as  will  be  seen  further  on  in 
the  proceedings  of  the  court. 

At  the  time  of  organization  all  county 
business  was  done  by  justices  of  the  peace, 
instead  of  by  county  commissioners,  as  was 
the  custom  a  few  years  liter,  or  by  supervis- 
ors as  at  the  present  day.  The  first  term  of 
the  County  Court  was  held  at  the  house  of 
Edward  N.  Cullom,  near  the  present  town  of 
Palestine,  on  the  26th  day  of  February,  1817. 
From  this  record  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
county  was  fully  organized  and  its  civil  ma- 
chinery setin  motion,  without  any  unnecessary 
delay,  from  the  approval  of  the  act  (December 
31,  1816.)  This  first  term  of  court  was  held 
by  Edward  N.  Cullom  and  John  Dunlap,  jus- 
tices of  the  peace;  Edward  H.  Piper,  clerk, 
and  Francis  Cullom,  sheriff.  The  first  act  of 
the  court  was  to  accept  the  bond  of  Cullom 
as  sheriff.  Then  Joseph  Malcom  was  sworn 
in  as  a  constable.  The  next  act  was  to  "di- 
vide the  county  into  districts  or  election  pre- 
cincts," as  follows:  The  first  comprised  the 
tract  of  country  from  the  mouth  of  the  Em- 
barras  River,  which  was  the  southern  bound- 


ary of  the  county,  extending  up  the  Wabash 
River  to  the  center  of  township   five,  thence 
west  to  the  county  line,  and  vras  named  "Al- 
lison."    The  second,  all  that  country  between 
the    center   of  townships    five  and  eight,  and 
was  called  "  Lamotte."     The    third    included 
all   north    of  township    eight  to  Canada,  and 
was  named   "Union."      Assessors    were   ap- 
pointed for  these  precincts  as  follows:  Georgo 
W.  Kincaid  in  Allison;    Joel    Cheek  in    La- 
motte, and  Isaac  Moore  in  Union.      The   fol- 
lowing was  the    tax    levied:     On    all    horses, 
mares,  mules  and  asses,  ST.J  cents    per    head; 
on  all  stallions  the  sums  for  which  the  owners 
charge  for  thvnr    services;  on    all    unmarried 
men    over  31  years  of  ago,  and  who  had  not 
$200    worth   of  taxable  property,  one  dollar; 
on  each  bondsmen  or  slave  over   the   age    of 
16   years,  one  dollar;  on  all  mansion  houses, 
whieh    included    houses    of  all    kinds,   thirty 
cents  on  the  hundred   dollars    valuation;    on 
the    ferry  of  James  Gibson,  five  dollars;  and 
on  the  ferry    of  E.  Twombley,  three    dollars. 
The  rates  of  ferriage  across  the  Wabash  was 
fixed  at  the  following:    a  wagon    and   team, 
75  cents;  a  two-wheeled  carriage,  37^  cents; 
a  man  and  horse,  12.V    cents;  a  man    on    foot 
65^  cents;  cattle  four  cents  a  head,  and  sheep 
and  hogs   two   cents   a    head    each.      Fence 
viewers    and    road    overseers  were  appointed 
for  the  different    precincts,    and    then    court 
adjourned,  having  completed  its  work  for  the 
term. 

The  second  term  of  County  Court  con- 
vened at  the  same  place,  and  was  held  by 
Edward  N.  Cullom,  John  Dunlap  and  Isaac 
Moore,  embracing  the  23d  and  2-lth  days  of 
June,  1817.  Permission  was  granted  by  the 
court  to  Isaac  Parker  to  build  a  "water  mill" 
on  Mill  Creek,  about  twenty-five  miles  north 
of  Palestine.  The  laying  out  of  roads  occu- 
pied a  portion  of  the  time  of  the  honorable 
court,  and  we  find  that  James  Caldwell, 
George  Catron  and    William    Lockard   were 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


41 


appointed  to  "  view  and  mark  out  a  road  " 
from  Edward  N.  CuIloiii''s,  on  Laniotte  prai- 
rie, to  the  head  of  Walnut  prairie,  and 
Smith  Shaw,  Benjamin  Eaton  and  Francis 
Cullom  were  appointed  to  view  out  a  road 
from  the  same  place  (Cullora's)  to  Arthur 
Jones'  ferry.  Several  ottier  roads  were 
ordered  laid  out;  also  the  county  officers 
filed  their  bonds.  Edward  II.  Piper  as  county 
clerk,  Allen  McGahey  as  the  first  coroner, 
and  John  Dunlap  as  first  county  surveyor, 
wiiich  concluded  the  business  of  the  term. 
A  third  term  was  held  also  at  CuUom's,  in 
October,  which  was  taken  up  mostly  in  order- 
\u<r  roads  laid  out,  and  other  routine  busi- 
ness, not  specially  interesting  to  the  general 
reader. 

Edward  N.  Cullom,  at  this  early  period, 
seems  to  have  been  the  animating  spirit  of 
the  community,  and  his  bustling  activity 
found  ample  scope  for  its  exercise.  In  the 
newly-formed  court  he  presided  as  one  of  the 
justices;  he  originated  and  superintended 
many  of  the  public  enterprises  of  the  time, 
and  for  many  years  was  one  of  the  most  ac- 
tive and  enterprising  men  in  the  settlement. 
His  home  for  some  time  was  the  actual  capi- 
tal of  the  county,  for  Palestine 

"Was  then  a  city  only  in  name. 
The  houses  and  barns  had  not  yet  a  frame. 
The  streets  and  the  squares  no  mortal  could  see, 
And  the  woodman's  ax  had  scarce  hit  a  tree." 

The  courts  were  held  at  his  house;  roads 
were  laid  out  from  thence  to  radiating  points, 
and,  indeed,  it  seems  to  have  been  the  center 
round  which  the  little  community  revolved. 
The  county  had  no  other  capital  until  the 
laying  out  of  Palestine  some  two  years  or 
more  after  the  organization  of  the  county. 

At  the  fourth  term  of  the  court — held,  as 
usual,  at  Cullom's,  on  the  (ith,  7th  and  8th 
days  of  Aijril,  1818,  by  Samuel  Harris, 
George  W.  Kinkade,  James  Shaw,  Smith 
Shaw,  and   Joseph  Kitchell,  the  following  re- 


port was  received  on  the  third  day  of  the 
term,  from  Soth  Gard  and  Peter  Keene,  who 
had  iieen  appointed  by  the  Legislature  in 
place  of  those  mentioned  in  the  original  act, 
to  locate  the  county  seat:  "The  center  of 
the  public  square  to  be  eight3'  roods  north  of 
the  southeast  corner  of  the  southeast  quarter 
of  section  31,  in  to^vnship  7  north,  range  11 
west.  The  center  of  said  public  square  to 
extend  exactly  on  the  line  dividing  sections 
34  and  35  in  the  township  and  range  above 
stated.  The  donation  given  to  the  county 
to  be  one  equal  half  of  sixty  acres  of 
ground,  to  be  laid  off  on  the  following  quar- 
ter section:  To  be  laid  the  whole  length  of 
the  southeast  quarter  of  section  34,  as  above 
stated,  and  on  the  east  side  of  said  quarter, 
and  the  whole  length  of  the  southwest  quar- 
ter of  section  35,  to  be  laid  the  whole  length 
of  said  quarter,  and  on  the  west  side  of  the 
same." 

On  the  land  thus  described  in  the  above 
report  of  the  commissioners,  the  town  of 
Palestine  was  laid  out  into  one  hundred  and 
sixty  lots,  with  streets  and  alleys,  and  became 
the  seat  of  justice  of  Crawford  County,  an 
honor  it  held  until  the  growth  and  increase  of 
population  demanded  a  more  eligible  location, 
when  it  was  moved  nearer  to  the  center  of 
the  county.  The  land  upon  which  the  town 
was  laid  out,  was  owned  by  Edward  N.  Cul- 
lom and  Joseph  Kitchell;  that  on  the  east 
side  of  the  square  by  Cullom,  and  that  on 
the  west  side  by  Kitchell.  Each  alternate 
lot  was  donated  to  the  county  by  the  propri- 
etors, in  consideration  of  tlie  establishing  of 
the  county  scat  upon  their  land.  David  Por- 
ter was  appointed  agent  of  the  county,  with 
authority  to  sell  the  lots  thus  donated.  Lots 
were  sold  by  him  from  time  to  time,  and 
houses  were  erected  upon  them;  people 
moved  in  and  took  up  their  abode,  inaugurat- 
ing business  of  different  kinds,  and  the  place 
grew  slowly,  but   Steadily,  into  a  town.     As 


42 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


•  cities  rise  and  sink 


Like  bubbles  on  the  water," 

so  Palestine  rose  to  prominence,  and  for  many 
years  was  a  place  of  considerable  importance 
— in  fact  the  Athens  of  the  State.  Aside 
from  KnsUaskia  and  Vandalia,  the  first  two 
State  capitals,  there  are  few  points  in  Illinois 
richer  in  historical  lore.  It  was  the  county 
seat;  the  land  office  was  located  there,  and 
doubtless  it  would  have  become  the  capital 
instead  of  Vandalia,  but  for  its  unfortunate 
geographical  position  on  the  extreme  border 
of  the  State.  Within  its  precincts  asseml)led 
the  wise  and  great,  the  pleasure  seeker,  the 
rich  and  the  fair — the  creme  de  la  creme  of 
the  whole  frontier,  for  social  interchange  and 
enjoyment.  But  the  gay  little  city  reached 
the  zenith  of  its  prosperity,  and  then  its  star 
began  to  wane.  From  the  removal  of  the 
seat  of  justice  to  Robinson  may  be  dated  its 
decline,  and  the  growth  of  the  latter  place 
proved  the  death  of  its  glory  and  magnifi- 
cence. It  is  almost  as  dead  to  the  energy 
and  enterprise  of  this  fast  age  of  improve- 
ment as  though  lying  buried  as  deep  as 
Pompeii  beneath  the  lava  from  Vesuvius.  Its 
decaying  buildings  show  the  ivy  clinging  to 
their  moldering  turrets  and  "  hoary  lichen 
springing  from  the  disjointed  stones." 
Mocked  by  its  own  desolation,  the  "  btt,  shrill 
shrieking  woos  its  flickering  mate,"  and  the 
"  serpents  hiss  and  the  wild  birds  scream." 
As  has  been  said  of  ancient  Rome, 

"The  spider  waves  its  web  in  ber  palaces; 
The  owl  sings  his  watch-song  in  her  towers." 

The  agitation  consequent  to  the  removal 
of  the  county  seat  commenced  as  early  as 
3  840.  Hutsonville  conceived  a  jealousy  of 
Palestine,  and  itself  sought  to  become  th« 
seat  of  justice.  Originally  York  had  con- 
tested the  right  of  Palestine  to  that  glory, 
and  losing  the  honor,  had  kicked  clear  out  of 
the   harness,    and   kicked    herself  into  Clark 


County.  Through  the  efforts  of  Hutsonville, 
and  other  interested  parties,  the  matter  was 
brought  to  a  vote  of  the  people,  at  the  election 
held  in  August,  1843.  Hutsonville  by  this 
time  had  given  up  the  contest,  and  retired 
from  the  race.  Five  other  places,  however, 
bid  for  it.  as  follows:  on  40  acres  donated 
by  Finley  Paull,  Wm.  Wilson,  and  R.  A.  and 
Jno.  W.  Wilson,  (now  Robinson);  40  acres 
donated  by  P.  C  Barlow;  the  same  amount 
donated  by  Nelson  Hawley;  Palestine  and 
the  geographical  center  of  the  county.  The 
vote  stood:  The  donation  of  Paull  and  others 
— 213  votes;  donation  of  Barlow — 133  votes; 
donation  of  Hawley — 38  votes;  Palestine — 
132  votes;  and  the  center — 9  votes.  No  one 
of  these  received  a  majority  of  the  votes 
cast,  and  the  question  was  aarain  submitted  to 
the  people  on  the  12th  day  of  October  follow- 
inor,  with  the  condition  that  the  two  places  re- 
ceiving the  highest  number  of  votes  at  the  first 
election,  should  alone  be  voted  on.  The  result 
was  as  follows:  The  point  offered  by  Paull, 
Wilson  and  others — 351  votes,  and  that  offered 
by  Barlow — 184  votes.  Thus  Paull  and  the 
Wilsons  received  the  majority,  and  their  do- 
nation became  the  county  seat.  A  town  was 
laid  out,  and  named  Robinson,  in  honor  of 
Hon.  John  M.  Robinson,  a  lawyer  well  known 
here  some  years  ago. 

At  the  same  term  of  court,  at  which  Gard 
and  Keene  made  their  report,  locating  the 
county  seat  at  Palestine,  an  order  was  passed 
making  "wolf  scalps"  at  $3  apiece,  a  legal 
tender.  These  "  trophies  of  the  chase  "  passed 
current  for  "  whisky,  tobacco  and  other  nec- 
essaries oi  life,"  and  were  also  receivable,  by 
order  of  the  court,  for  county  taxes.  It  may 
be  of  interest  to  some  of  our  readers,  who 
were  unacquainted  with  the  "  wolf  scalpers  " 
of  that  day,  to  give  a  few  of  their  names  and 
the  number  of  scalps  presented  by  each  at  a 
single  term  of  court.  They  are  as  follows: 
Jan  Martin,  one  scalp;  J.  Gallon,  one;  John 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


43 


G.urard,  one;  Clialkey  Draper,  one;  John 
Berry,  one;  James  Gain,  nine;  John  Allison, 
three;  Georo^e  W.  Carter,  one;  John  Miller, 
one;  John  Walilrop,  five;  Hugh  Miller,  three; 
Jacob  Blaze,  two;  Thomas  Handy,  ten;  Win. 
Y.  Hackett,  one;  James  Gill,  two;  Abraham 
CoonroJ,  two;  \Vm.  Lowe,  one;  Francis  Cul- 
lom,  ten;  making  a  total  of  fifty-five  scalps, 
yielding  quite  a  revenue  for  that  day.  This 
term  of  court  also  regulated  the  price  tavern- 
keepers  might  charge  for  their  exhileratino- 
beverages — all  who  sold  whisky  at  retail  had 
to  take  out  tavern-license  and  were  forced  to 
keep  sufficient  house  room  to  accommodate  a 
certain  number  of  persons,  together  with 
stable  room  for  their  horses.  The  prices 
were:  For  half  a  pint  of  wine,  French 
brandy  or  rum,  50  cents;  half  a  pint  of  peach 
or  apple  brandy,  18f  cents;  half  a  pint  of 
whisky,  12^  cents;  for  a  horse  feed,  13^- 
cents,  and  for  a  meal's  victuals,  25  cents. 

The  most  important  business  transacted  at 
the  fifth  term  of  court,  (held  as  usual  at  (Jul- 
lom's)  was  the  passing  of  an  order  for  build- 
ing a  jail.  Hitherto  the  people  were  so  simple 
and  ho.iest  as  to  require  no  prison,  and  indeed, 
but  few  of  the  restraining  influences  of  the 
law.  But  as  they  grew  in  numbers  and  in- 
creased in  civilization  it  became  necessary  to 
erect  court  houses  and  jails  for  the  purpose  of 
awing  evil-doers  into  submission  to  the  re- 
quirements of  society.  This  prison  was  or- 
dered to  be  built  of  hewn  timber,  twelve 
inches  square,  and  was  considered,  in  those 
pioneer  times,  quite  a  terror  to  all  who  dared 
trample  upon  the  majesty  of  the  law.  The  con- 
tract was  let  to  the  lowest  bidder,  on  the  22d 
day  of  August,  1818.  Joseph  Wood  drew 
the  prize,  and  was  to  receive  for  the  job 
$514.00,  one  half  of  which  wns  to  be  paid 
when  the  work  was  completed,  and  the  re- 
mainder twelve  months  after  completion.  Mr. 
Piper,  the  clerk,  was  appointed  manager  of 
tiie   work  on   the  part  of   the   countv.     Com- 


mencing on  the  7th  of  December,  1818,  Jo- 
seph Kitchell,  David  Porter  and  Thomas  An- 
derson, held  the  si.\th  and  last  term  of  the 
County  Court  under  the  old  Territorial  laws. 
The  usual  routine  of  business  was  despatched, 
but  nothing  of  sufficient  importance  to  ne- 
cessitate the  transcribing  of  it  in  these  pages. 

A  new  era  now  commenced  in  doing  the 
county  business.  Illinois  had  been  admitted 
(in  1818)  as  a  State  into  the  Federal  Union; 
a  State  Coristitution  had  been  framed  and 
adopted,  and  the  laws  materially  changed  in 
many  respects.  County  business  was  now 
transacted  by  three  officials,  styled  County 
Commissioners,  and  Wicklitie  Kitchell,  Ed- 
ward N.  CuUom,  and  William  Barbee  were 
chosen  the  first  Commissioners  of  Crawford 
County.  They  held  their  first  court  in  the 
tavern  of  James  Wilson,  in  the  town  of  Pal- 
estine, commencing  on  the  7th  day  of  June, 
1819;  Edward  H.  Piper,  clerk,  and  John  S. 
Woodworth,  sheriff.  Thomas  Kennedy  was 
appointed  county  treasurer.  The  county 
was  now  nearly  three  years  old,  its  machinerv 
was  running  smoothly,  and  everything  indi- 
cated future  prosperitv. 

Court  Houses. — At  the  December  term 
(1819)  of  the  County  Commissioners'  Court,  the 
jail,  which  had  been  built  by  Joseph  Wood, 
was  officially  received.  A  contract  had  previ- 
ously been  let  for  building  a  court  house,  to 
William  Lindsey,  of  Vinoennes,  but  some  dis- 
satisfaction was  evinced  by  the  commission- 
ers, as  to  quality  arid  workmanship  of  the  brick 
work  of  the  buililing,and  they  called'on  Thomas 
Westfall,  D.  McHenry  and  Jonathan  Young, 
three  brick  masons,  to  judge  and  determine 
the  work  and  material,  which  they  did,  and 
decided  in  favor  of  T.indsey,  the  contractor. 
The  building  was  officially  received  at  a  spe- 
cial term  held  the  latter  part  of  December, 
and  the  court  paid  Westfall,  McHenry  and 
Young  !j;9  for  their  services  as  referees.  The 
new  court  house  was   occupied    for   the  first 


44 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


time  at  the  March  term  of  the  court,  1820. 
The  following  order  was  made  at  a  term  of 
court  held  in  October  of  the  same  year: 
"  That  Venetian  blinds  be  made  for  the  court 
house  in  Palestine  and  slips  to  shut  them 
against;  tiie  two  doors  be  faced  with  strong 
'ruff'  scantling,  and  double  batten  shutters 
be  made  and  hung  to  each;  that  the  windows 
and  doors  be  hung  with  good  wrought  or 
cast  hinges,  and  each  side  be  cornished  up 
with  good,  neat,  solid  cornish,  like  that  on  the 
steam  saw-mill  at  Vincennes." 

The  court  house  had  been  built  of  very- 
poor  material  and  worse  workmanship,  but 
was  received  by  the  court.  There  was  troulile, 
however,  between  the  contractor  and  the 
c(inimissioners  in  regard  to  the  p^y  for  it,  and 
suit  was  finally  brought  by  Lindsey,  in  the 
Circuit  Court  of  Edwards  County,  and  judg- 
ment obtained  in  his  favor  for  $1,768.64.  It 
served  as  a  court  house  for  several  years,  but 
the  material  of  which  it  was  composed  was  of 
such  inferior  quality,  that  the  building  was 
never  entir.ily  finished.  It  was  struck  three 
times  by  lightning  and  the  walls  so  injured 
tliat  it  l)ecan)e  necessary  to  take  them  down; 
which  was  done,  and  the  material  sold.  A 
part  of  the  brick  is  now  in  Lagow's  house  in 
Palestine.  The  county  was  now  without  a 
court  house,  and  was  compelled  to  rent  rooms 
wherever  it  could,  and  often  the  Circuit  Court 
and  grand  jury  occupied  rooms  in  different 
parts  of  the  town. 

At  the  March  term  of  the  Commissioners' 
Court  in  1830,  it  was  ordered,  "that  a  frame 
court  house  be  built  on  the  southwest  corner 
of  the  public  square,"  which  was  afterward 
let  out  to  the  lowest  bidder.  David  Porter 
furnished  the  hewn  timbers  for  $119,  and  the 
contract  for  building  was  let  to  Benjamin 
Myers  and  others,  or,  as  they  were  then 
calleil  the  "seven  Jesses,"  they  being  a  fam- 
ily of  seven  brothers,  and  Jesse  was  the  lead- 
ing one  of  them.     The  house  was  completed. 


but  unfortunately  for  all  parties  concerned, 
the  night  before  it  was  to  have  been  received 
by  the  court  "  some  malicious  person  or  per- 
sons "  set  fire  to  it,  and  it  was  entirely  con- 
sumed. The  loss  to  the  county  was  as  great 
as  to  the  contractors,  either  party  being  illy 
able  to  sustain  it,  but  the  county  bore  the 
greater  part  of  it,  as  on  the  7th  of  March, 
183.3,  we  find  from  the  records  that  the  court 
allowed  Myers  $460.50  for  work  done  on  the 
house  and  material  furnished,  which  was 
burned. 

Thus  the  county  was  again  without  a  court 
house,  but  at  the  December  term  of  the  court 
in  the  year  1833,  John  Boyd,  James  H.  Wil- 
son and  Asa  Norton,  the  then  county  commis- 
sioners, ordered,  "  that  another  court  house  be 
built  on  the  same  ground,  and  of  the  same 
kind  and  size  of  the  one  burnt."  It  was  built 
bv  Pr.^slev  O.  Wilson  and  Sewell  GooJridge, 
and  is  still  standing.  It  was  used  for  a  court 
house  until  the  county  seat  was  removed  to 
Robinson,  since  which  time  it  has  been  used 
frii-  various  purposes;  lately  by  the  Christian 
Church  as  a  house  of  worship. 

When  the  county  seat  was  moved  to  Rob- 
inson in  1843,  the  first  term  of  court  was  held 
in  a  frame  house  that  stood  on  the  corner 
where  the  Rolnnson  Clothing  Store  now  is, 
and  the  next  in  a  frame  house  at  the  south- 
west corner  of  the  square  belonging  to  Mr. 
Wilson.  The  present  court  house  was  built 
in  1844,  at  a  cost  of  about  $4,300.  It  has 
several  times  been  remodeled  and  improved, 
and  at  the  present  time  sadly  needs  improving 
with  a  new  one. 

The  court  house  was  built  and  paid  for  out 
of  what  was  known  as.  the  "bonus  fund." 
This  was  a  fund  received  partly  from  the  sale 
of  the  saline  and  mineral  lands,  and  partly 
from  the  State,  under  an  act  of  the  Legislature, 
donating  to  each  county  that  was  without 
r.iilroads  or  canals,  a  certain  sum  of  money, 
for  t'.ie  purpose  of  building   bridges  and  im- 


ch^^  ^^y  ;^ 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


proviiif^  their  roaJs.  It  was  sometimes  called 
"  hush  money,"  as  it  was  intended  to  hush  any 
grumbling  on  the  part  of  the  county  receiving 
it  at  not  getting  its  share  of  internal  improve- 
ment. The  county  received  as  her  bonus 
.-everal  thousand  dollars,  which  was  placed  at 
interest,  and  used  as  occasion  required. 

The  old  log  jail  was  moved  from  Palestine 
with  the  county  seat,  but  in  1845,  a  brick  jail 
was  built.  It  was  a  poor  affair,  and  about 
1855-6,  another  was  built  with  iron  cells. 
This,  however,  was  deemed  unliealthv,  and  in 
1877,  the  present  stone  jail  was  built,  south- 
east of  the  court  house,  and  in  connection 
with  the  sheriff's  residence. 

Circuit  Court. — The  first  Circuit  Court, 
held  for  Crawford  County,  convened  on  Mon- 
<iay  the  15th  day  of  September,  1817,  at  the 
house  of  Edward  N.  Cullom,  agreeably  to  an 
act  of  the  General  Assembly,  passed  at  its 
last  session,  and  was  presided  over  by  the 
"Honorable  Thomas  Towles,  Judge."  The 
following  are  the  names  of  the  first  grand 
jury:  William  Howard,  foreman;  Uaniel 
Travis,  M''illiam  Travis,  Thomas  Mills,  Ira 
Allison,  Samuel  Allison,  Asahel  Haskins, 
Jiiiin  Waldrop,  Sen.,  Richard  Eaton,  Thomas 
.lones,  Daniel  Martin,  William  Garrard,  Benj. 
Parker,  Jonas  Painter,  Samuel  Briniberry, 
Poter  Price,  .John  Lamb,  William  Everman, 
William  Hicks,  George  Smith  and  Newberry 
York,  who  were  "sworn  to  inquire  for  the 
County  of  Crawford,"  and  who  "received 
their  charge  and  retired  out  of  court  to  con- 
sider of  their  presentment."  The  first  case 
was  as  follows: 

Stepuex  Beck,  Plaintiff,    ) 

ar/ainst  ■  In  Debt. 

Joseph  Bogart,  Defendant.  ) 

It  was  a  plain  suit  for  debt,  and  the  de- 
fendant, Bogart,  confessed  the  same  and  judg- 
ment was  rendered  accordingly.  Tlie  next 
caso 


Elisua  BRADiiKPvRV,  Plaintiff,  )   ,         ,,  , 

a i/i It II --ft  V        ij.  4-1. 

Robert  Gill,  Defendant.     )  '     6r\ . 

was  a  jury  case,  and  it  was  tried  before  the 
following  jurj-:  Thomas  Wilson,  Ithra  By- 
shears,  Joseph  Shaw,  John  Funk,  Andrew 
Montgomery,  John  R.  Adams,  James  Moore, 
Joseph  Eaton,  Joseph  Wood,  Isaac  Parker, 
George  Bogher  and  Jame>  Giljson.  The  jury 
found  a  verdict  for  the  plaintiff  of  §37.02, 
which  was  approved  by  the  court.  There 
were  a  few  other  trifling  cases,  and  among  the 
proceedings  tiie  following  order  was  entered 
upon  the  record:  "Ordered  that  Thomas 
Handy,  Charles  Neeley  and  John  Funk,  Jr., 
be  summoned  here  at  the  next  term  of  this 
court  to  show  cause  why  they  shall  not  be 
fined  for  failing  to  attend  as  grand  jurors 
agreeably  to  the  summons  of  the  sheriff." 
Then  the  grand  jury  reported  their  indict- 
ments, among  which  we  note  the  following 
one: 

UxiTED  States      )  Indictment    for  bring- 
agaiiiKt  >      ing  home  a  hog  with- 

Cf)RXELius  Taylor.  )      out  the  ears. 

Court  then  adjourned  until  eight  o'clock  the 
next  morning,  and,  when  it  met,  it  adjourned 
"until  court  in  coarse."  We  find  no  record 
of  another  term  of  the  Circuit  Court  being 
hold,  until  on  Wednesday,  July  7, 1819,  in  P;d- 
estine,  with  Honorable  Thomas  C.  Brown  as 
presiding  judge,  and  William  W/ilson,  circuit 
attorney. 

Among  the  indictments  made  bv  the  grand 
jury  at  this  term  was  the  following: 

The  State  of  Illinois' 

VK.  Indictment  for 

William  Kilbuck,       )■  Miirder. 

Captain  Tuomas,         |  A  true  bill. 

Big  Panther.  J 

The  parties  named  were  three  Delaware 
Indians,  who  wore  chartred  with  the  murder 
of   Thomas  McCall,  under  the  following  cir- 


48 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUXTV. 


cumstances:  Cornelius  Taylor  kept  a  still 
house,  and  had  been  forbidden  to  let  the  In- 
dians have  whisky  without  a  written  order 
from  proper  authority.  McCall  was  a  sur- 
veyor, and  had  been  in  the  habit  of  some- 
times trading  with  the  Indians,  and  it  is  said, 
used  to  occasionally  give  them  an  order  to 
Taylor  for  whisky.  The  Indians  named  in 
the  indictment  went  to  McCall  and  begged 
him  for  "fire-water,"  and  finally  to  rid  himself 
of  their  importunities  wrote  something  on  a 
piece  of  paper  which  he  handed  them,  and 
which  they  supposed  was  the  necessary  order. 
They  went  to  Taylor  with  it,  who  read  it 
aloud  to  them.  It  was  an  order — but  an 
order  not  to  let  them  have  the  whisky.  The 
Ind  ans  were  so  incensed  that,  to  gratify 
their  revenare,  they  murdered  McCall. 

They  were  indicted  and  tried  at  the  term 
of  the  court  convened,  as  already  stated,  July 
7,  1819.  The  trial  of  the  Indians  was  set 
for  the  9th,  the  third  day  of  the  term.  The 
following  are  the  jury:  .las.  Sliaw,  Smith 
Shaw,  John  Barlow,  Jas.  Watts,  Wm.  Barbee, 
Wm.  Wilson,  David  Van  Winkle,  John  W«l- 
drop,  James  Kennedy,  Isaac  Lewis,  Joseph 
Shaw  and  Gabriel  Funk.  The  jury,  upon 
hearing  the  evidence,  returned  a  verdict  of 
"guilty."  A  motion  was  then  made  to  arrest 
judgment,  which  motion  was  sustained  by  the 
court,  and  a  new  trial  ordered.  This  time 
Kilbuck  was  tried  separately,  found  guilty 
by  the  jury,  and  sentenced  by  the  court  to  be 
hanged  on  the  14th  of  July,  1819,  but  made 
his  escape  before  the  appointed  day.  Captain 
Thomas  and  Big  Panther  asked  for  a  con- 
tinuance, which  was  granted,  and  afterward  a 
nolle  prosequi  was  entered  by  the  prosecuting 
attorney.     So  ended  the  Indian  trial. 

For  some  ten  years  after  the  organization 
of  the  county  most  of  the  cases  tried  in  the 
Circuit  Court  were  for  assault  and  battery;  a 
few  being  for  debt,  and  an  occasional  one  for 
larceny.     From  the  great  number  of  assault 


and  battery  cases,  it  may  be  inferred  that 
fighting  was  the  popular  amusement  of  the 
day.  To  get  drunk  and  fight  was  so  common 
that  a  man  who  did  not  indulge  in  these  pas- 
times was  considered  effeminate  and  coward- 
ly. To  be  considered  the  "  best  man,"  that  is, 
the  best  fighter,  or  as  we  would  say  to-day, 
the  greatest  bully,  and  rough,  was  an  honor 
as  much  coveted  and  sought  after  by  a  certain 
class,  as  in  this  enlightened  age,  is  honor  and 
greatness.  This  rude  state  of  society  brought 
to  the  surface  some  of  the  roughest  characters 
of  the  frontier.  For  instance,  at  a  single 
term  of  the  Circuit  Court,  we  find  that  one 
Cornelius  Taylor  was  indicted  for  larceny,  for 
assault  and  battery,  for  rape,  etc.,  etc.  He 
was  a  had  man  and  a  detriment  to  the  pros- 
perity and  welfare  of  the  community.  With 
an  utter  disregard  for  law  and  order,  he 
prej^ed  upon  others,  and  there  are  those  who 
knew  him  still  living  to  bear  witness  to  his 
numerous  shortcomings.  There  were  many 
charges  agair.st  him,  which  were  doubtless 
true,  among  which  were  horse-stealing,  hog- 
stealing,  and  even  darker  crimes  were  hinted 
at  in  connection  with  him.  In  proof  of  the 
rough  state  of  society,  the  following  speaks 
for  itself  and  is  but  one  of  many: 

The  People  OF  THE  State  1  t    t  .         ,  ^ 

T  T-,,,-  Indictment  for 

OF  Illinois,  lit.,  a         u        i 

^,     '         '  >      Assault   and 

Hugh  Dail,  Defendant.  J  ^' 

"  Be  it  remembered  that  heretofore  to  wit, 
on  the  l"3th  day  of  May,  1834,  it  being  the 
third  day  of  the  May  term  of  the  said  court, 
the  grand  jury,  by  John  M.  Robinson,  circuit 
attorney,  filed  in  the  clerk's  office  of  said  Cir- 
cuit Court,  a  certain  bill  of  indictment 
against  said  defendant,  which  indictnipnt  is 
in  the  words  and  figures  following,  to  wit: 

State  of  Illinois,  ) 

Crawford  County.  )  At  the  Circuit  Court 
of  the  May  term,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
1824.     The  grand  jury  of  the  people   of    the 


HISTORY    OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


49 


State  of  Illinois,  cinpanneled,  charged  and 
sworn  to  inquire  for  the  body  of  the  said 
County  of  Crawford  in  the  name  and  by  the 
authority  of  the  people  of  the  State  of  Illi- 
nois, upon  their  oath  present  that  Hugh  Dail, 
late  of  the  township  of  Palestine,  in  the  said 
County  of  Crawford,  laborer,  on  the  first  day 
of  May,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1824,  with 
force  and  arms,  in  the  township  aforesaid,  and 
county  aforesaid,  in  and  upon  Isaac  Meek  did 
make  an  assault,  and  him,  the  said  Isaac,  then 
and  there  did  beat,  bruise,  wound  and  threat 
and  other  wrongs  to  the  said  Isaac  then  and 
there  did,  to  the  great  damage  of  the  said 
Isaac,  contrary  to  the  form  of  the  staute  in 
such  case  made  and  provided,  and  against  the 
peace  and  dignity  of  the  people  of  the  State 
of  Illinois."  (Signed,) 

JOHX  M.   ROBIXSON, 

Co.  Att'y. 
Upon  this  voluminous  and  very  lucid  docu- 
ment, was  issued  the  following  iron-clad  writ, 
"  in  the  words  and  figures  following  to  wit  :" 
"  The  people  of  the  State  of  Illinois  to  the 
Sheriff  of  Crawford  County,  greeting  :  We 
command  you  to  take  Hugh  Dail,  if  he  be 
found  in  your  bailmick,  and  him  safely  keep, 
so  that  you  have  his  body  before  the  judge 
of  our  Crawford  Circuit  Court  at  the  court 
house  in  Palestine,  on  the  first  day  of  our 
next  October  term,  to  answer  the  people  of 
the  State  of  Illinois  in  an  indictment  pre- 
fered  against  lilm  by  the  grand  jury  at  the 
last  May  term,  for  assault  and  battery,  and 
have  then  there  this  writ." 

Witness.  "Edward  H.  Pipeu, 

Clerk  &c.,  of  said  Court 

this  5J3d    day   of  

[siiAL.]  1824:,    and    the     48th 

year  of  the  Independ- 
ence   of    the     United 
States. 
Edward  IT.  Pipkr, 

Clerk." 


A  return  made  upon  the'back  of  the  writ 
by  the  sheriff  showed  that  Dail  was  not  in  his 
"  bailmick,"  whereupon  a  writ  was  issued  to 
the  sheriff  of  Edgar  County  for  him,  and  in 
due  time  he_  was  produced,  acknowledged  his 
offense  in  court,  and  was  fined  the  enormous 
sum  of  .50  cents  and  ''  costs." 

The  courts  moved  on  in  the  usual  manner 
of  all  backwoods  counties,  having  plenty  of 
business,  such  as  it  was,  upon  the  dockets  at 
the  different  tribunals,  and  which  was  gener- 
ally dispatched  in  a  summary,  backwoods 
stj-le,  distinguished  quite  as  much  for  equity 
and  fairness  between  man  and  man,  as  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  wisdom  of  Blackstone. 

Coxinty  Officers. — The  first  county  com- 
missioners, or  as  they  were  then  called,  county 
j  ustices  of  the  peace,  were  elected  or  appointed 
February  26,  1817,  and  were  E.  N.  Cullom, 
John  Dunlap  and  Isaac  Moore.  The  next 
year,  1818,  this  board  wi^s  increased  to  twelve, 
as  follows:  E.  N.  Cullom,  Samuel  Harris, 
Geo.  W.  Kincaid,  .Tames  Shaw,  Smith  Shaw, 
.foseph  Kitchell,  S.  B.  A.  Carter,  Chester 
Fitch,  Wm.  Lockard,  David  Porter,  David 
McGahey  and  Thomas  Anderson.  In  1819, 
it  dropped  liack  to  three  commissioners — E. 
N.  Cullom,  Wickliffe  Kitchell  and  William 
Barbee;  in  1820,  David  Stewart,  Aaron  Ball 
and  Henry  M.  Gilliam;  in  1821,  Aaron  Ball, 
iJavid  Stewart  and  E.  N.  Cullom;  in  1832, 
Daniel  Funk,  Enoch  Wilhite  and  Zephaniah 
Lewis;  in  1823,  Daniel  Funk,  John  Sackrider 
and  Enoch  Wilhite;  in  1824,  Daniel  Funk, 
John  Sackrider  and  William  Highsmith;  in 
1826,  Daniel  Funk,  Daniel  Boatright  and 
Bottsford  Comstock;  in  1828,  Wm.  High- 
smith,  Wm.  Magill  and  Doctor  Hill;  in  1832, 
Asa  Norton,  Jas.  H.  Wilson  and  John  Boyd; 
in  1834,  Asa  Norton,  Gabriel  Funk  and  John 
Boyd;  In  1836,  John  Boyd,  Eli  Adams  and 
Wm.  Cox;  in  1838,  L.  ~V>.  Cullom,  Daniel 
Boatright  and  John  Boyd;  in  1839,  Wm. 
Highsmith,  Daniel  Boatright  and    Wni.  Gill; 


50 


mSTOIiY  OF  CKAWFOUI)  CorXTY. 


in  1810,  Wm.  Gill,  Win.  Highsmith  and  Win. 
Mitciiell;  in  ISll,  Wm.  Highsmith,  Win. 
Mitchell  and  John  Musgrave;  in  1843,  Wm. 
Higlisniitli,  Jolin  Musgravo  and  Lott  Watts; 
in  ISl-t,  Will.  Highsmith,  Lott  Watts  and 
John  Boyd;  in  1845,  John  Boyd',  Lott  Watts 
and  Benj.  Beckwith;  in  184(j  a  probate 
judge  was  added,  and  Presley  O.  AVilson 
was  elected  to  the  office,  which  he  filled  until 
1849,  with  the  following  commissioners:  1846, 
Boyd,  Watts  and  Beckwith;  1847,  Beckwith, 
F.  M.  Brown  and  John  Newlin;  1848,  Brown, 
Newlin  and  Wm.  Reavill.  In  1849  another 
change  was  made.  A  county  judge,  with 
Associate  Justices,  composed  the  board,  as 
follows:  J.  B.  Trimble,  county  judge,  and 
Isaac  Wilkin  and  John  B.  Harper,  associates; 
in  1853,  Richard  G.  Morris,  county  judge, 
and  Jas.  F.  Hand  and  Wm.  Reavill,  associ- 
ates; in  1855,  John  W.  Steers,  county  judge, 
and  Win.  Reavill  and  James  F.  Hand,  associ- 
ates; in  1857,  W.  H.  Sierrett,  count}-  judge, 
and  Hand  and  John  Shaw,  associates;  in  ]8'31, 
Wm.  C.  Dickson,  county  judge,  and  D.  W. 
Odell  and  J.  J.  Petri,  associates;  in  1805, 
Dickson,  county  judge,  and  Benj.  Price  and 
I.  D.  Mail,  associates;  in  1807-8  still  an- 
other change  was  made  in  the  management 
of  county  business.  The  county  adopted 
township  organization,  and  H.  Alexander  was 
county  judge;  in  1809,  John  B.  Harper, 
county  judge;  in  1877,  Wm.  C.Jones;  in 
1879,  Franklin  Robb,  and  in  188-->,  J.  C. 
OKvin,  who  is  the  present  county  judge. 

Circuit  and  County  Clerks. — Edward  H. 
Piper  was  both  circuit  and  county  clerk 
from  the  organization  of  the  county  to  1835. 
The  offices  were  then  separated,  and  A.  G. 
Lagow  was  made  county  clerk,  and  D.  W. 
Stark,  circuit  clerk;  in  1837,  E.  L.  Patton  be- 
came county  clerk,  and  in  1838,  W.  B.  Baker 
became  both  county  and  circuit  clerk,  which 
positions  he  held  until  1848,  when  they  were 
again  separated,  and  James  H.  Steel  became 


county  clerk,  and  C.  M.  Hamilton,  circuit 
clerk;  in  1849,  Wm.  Cox  was  elected  circuit 
clerk,  but  died,  and  Wm.  Barbee  became 
clerk;  in  1854,  he  was  succeeded  by  John  T. 
Co.x,  who  in  1856  was  succeeded  by  Hiram 
Johnson,  and  he  by  Wm.  Johnson,  in  1805; 
in  1806,  Sing  B.  Allen  was  elected  to  the 
office,  and  in  1876  he  was  succeeded  by  our 
Fat  Contributor,  the  only,  the  funny  and  good- 
natured  John  Thomas  Cox,  the  present 
courteous  and  accommodating  incumbent. 
Mr.  Steel  remained  county  clerk  until  1857, 
when  the  elder  John  T.  Cox  was  elected.  He 
was  succeeded  by  Wm.  C.  Wilson,  familiarly 
known  as  "  Carl  "  Wilson,  who  held  the  office 
until  1877,  when  he  surrendered  it  to  David 
Reavill.  The  latter  died  before  his  term  ex- 
pired, and  T.  S.  Price  was  appointed  to  fill 
out  the  term,  when  he  was  re-elected,  and  is 
at  present  the  county  clerk. 

aheri^fs. — Francis  Cullom  was  the  Hrst 
sheriff  of  the  county;  in  1818,  John  S. 
Woodvvorth  was  sheriff;  in  1823,  John  Hous- 
ton; in  1820,  Joel  Phelps;  in  1827,  A.  M. 
Houston;  in  1829,  E.  W.  Kellogg;  in  1835, 
John  Eastburn;  in  183S,  Presley  O.  Wilson; 
in  1840,  R.  Arnold;  in  1844,  L.  D.  Cullom; 
in  1850,  J.  M.  Grimes;  in  1852,  H.  Johnson; 
in  1854,  D.D.  Fowler;  in  1856,  John  D.  New- 
lin; in  1858,  David  Little;  in  1860,  Wm. 
Reavill;  in  1802,  Wm.  Johnson;  in  1804, 
H.  Henderson;  in  18i  6,  Wm.  Reavill;  in 
1808,  Davii  Reavill;  in  1870,  R.  Leach;  in 
1872,  A.  B.  Houston;  in  1874,  H.  Henderson; 
in  1876,  Win.  Johnson;  in  1878,  S.  T.  Lind- 
sey;  in  1880,  John  M.  Highsmith,  and  in  lSrf2, 
d!  M.  Bales. 

2'reasurtrs. — The  first  treasurer  of  the 
county  was  Thomas  Kennedy;  in  1824,  John 
Houston  was  elected  treasurer;  in  1820,  John 
Malcom;  in  1833,  Charles  Kitchell;  in  1835, 
Daniel  Hulible;  in  1830,  John  L.  Buskirk; 
in  1837,  John  A.  Williams;  in  1839,  Fmley 
PauU;  in  1844,  James  Weaver;  in  1845,  Jas. 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


51 


S.  Otey;  in  1S4G,  C.  II.  Fitch;  in  1853,  W. 
C.  Wilson;  in  1855,  James  Mitchell;  in  18G1, 
Samson  Taylor;  in  18G7,  John  C.  Page;  in 
1871,  Wm."RcavilI;  in  1873,  Wm.  Updyke; 
in  187S,  i.  U.  JIail,  and  in  1882,  Samson 
Taylor. 

Surveyors  and'  Coroners. — John  Dunlap 
was  the  first  surveyor,  and  Allen  McGahey 
the  first  coroner,  who  was  succeeded  bv  Jon- 
athan Wood  in  1820.  In  18:23  George  Cal- 
houn was  appointed  county  surveyor,  but 
shortly  after  was  succeeded  by  Jacob  Help- 
ingstiene;  in  1823  George  Calhoun  was 
again  appointed;  in  1838  W.  B.  Baker  was 
appointed;  in  184G,  C.  H.  Fitch;  in  1847, 
Jas.  H.  Steel;  in  1850,  PI.  B.  Jolly;  after 
wiiich  we  lose  trace  of  the  office. 

Sch<  ol  Commissioners. — As  early  as  1819, 
R.  C.  Ford  was  appointed  school  commis- 
sioner by  act  of  the  Legislature,  and  in  1833 
Thos.  Kennedy  was  appointed;  in  1836  he 
was  succeeded  by  Wm.  Barbee;  in  1841  Fin- 
ley  Paul!  was  appointed;  in  1842,  Jas.  S. 
Otey;  i'n  1845,  Nelson  Hawley;^in  1853,  F. 
Robb;  in  1856,  Jno.  T.  Cox;  in  1SG7,  Geo. 
W.  Peck;  in  18G1,  John  C.  Page;  in  1865, 
Geo.  N.  Parker;  in  1869,  S.  A.  Burner;  in 
1873,  P.  G.  Bradberry;  in  1876,  G.  W.  Hen- 
derson; in  1880,  Hugh  McHatton;  and  in 
1883,  H.  O.  Hiser. 

State  Senators. — First  session,  1818-20. 
Joseph  Kitchell;  1830-33,  Joseph  Kitchell; 
1833-34,  Dan'l  Parker;  1824-36,  Dan'l  Par- 
ker; 1826-38,  Wm.  B.  Archer;  1838-30, 
Wickliflfe  Kitchell;  1830-33,  WicklifTe  Kitch- 
ell; 1833-31,  Djvid  McGahey;  1834-30,  Da- 
vid McGahey;  1836-38,  Peter  Pruyno;  1S3S 
-40,  Abner  Greer;  1840-43,  John  Houston; 
1842-44,  John  Houston;  1844-46,  Sam'l  Dun- 
lap;  1846-48,  Sam'l  Dunlap;  1848-50  (the 
State  had  been  re-districted,  and  Crawford 
was  a  part  of  the  9th  district),  Uri  Manly; 
1850-53,  Josiah  R.Winn;  1852-54,  J.  R. 
Winn;     lS54-5'i,    .Mort  rner    O'Kaii;   1856- 


58,  Mortimer  O'Kean;  1858-60,  Mortimer 
O'Kean;  1860-62,  Presley  Funkhouser;  1863 
-64,  Sam'l  Moffatt;  1864-6G,  Andrew  J, 
Hunter;  1866-68,  A.  J.  Hunter;  1868-70, 
E<hvin  Harlan;  1870-73,  John  Jackson  and 
Edwin  Harlan;  1872-74,  Wm.  J.  Crews; 
1874-76,  O.  V.  Smith;  1876-78,  O.  V.  Smith; 
1878-80,  Wm.  C.  Wilson;  1880-82,  AVm.  C. 
Wilson;  1882-84,  W.  H.  McNairy. 

Jtepresentatives. — First  session,  1818-20, 
David  Porter;  1830-33,  Abraham  Cairns; 
1822-24,  R.  C.  Ford;  1824-26,  David  Jlc- 
Gahey;  1826-28,  John  C.  Alexander;  1828- 
30,  J.  C.  Alexander;  1830-32,  J.  C.  Alexan- 
der; 1832-34,  William  Highsmith;  1834-36, 
J.  D.  McGahey;  1836-38,  Wilson  Lagow;  1838 
-40;  H.  Alexander;  1840-42,  Wm.  Wilson; 
1843-44,  Wm.  Wilson;  1844-46,  R.  G.  Mor-  ' 
ris;  1846-48,  M.  Boyle;  1848-50,*  R.  G.  „ 
Morris;  1850-52,  Jas.  C.  Allen;  1852-54,  W. 
H.  Sterritt;  1854-56  (Crawford  was  now  in 
17th  district),  Randolph  Heath;  1856-58, 
Isaac  Wilson;  1858-60,  H.  C.  McCleave;  18G0 
-62,  Aaron  Shaw;  1863-64  (Crawford  was 
now  in  the  11th  district),  David  W.  OJell; 
1864-66,  Thos.  Cooper;  1866-68,  D.  W.  Odeli; 
1868-70,  Joseph  Cooper;  1870-72,  Wm.  C. 
Jones;\Jl873-74  (Crawford  was  now  in  the 
45th,  with  three  Representatives  from  the 
district),  Harmon  Alexander,  Thos.  J.  Golden 
and  J.  L.  Flanders;  1874-76,  E.  Callahan,  J. 
H.  Halley  and  J.  W.  Briscoe;  187G-78,  A. 
J.  Reavill,  J.  H.  Halley  and  Wm.  Lindsey; 
1878-80,  A.  J.  Reavill  J.  W.  Graham  and 
J.  R.  Johnson;  1880-83,  J.  C.  Olwin,  J.  C. 
Bryan  and  W.  H.  H.  Mieur;  18S2-84,  Win. 
Updyke,  J.  M.  Honey  and  Grandison    Clark. 

Miscellaneous. — In  the  constitutional  Con- 
vention held  at  Kaskaskia  in  July,  1818,  Craw- 
ford was  roprosenteil  by  Joseph  Kitchell  and 
Edward  N.  Cullom;  in  tliat  of  1847-8,  by  Nel- 

*The  county  was  districted,  and  Crawford  was  a 
put  of  Iho  lOth  irgislative  dit'.ric-t. 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


son  Hawley;  of  186:3,  by  H.  Alexander;  of 
1870,  by  James  C.  Alien.  The  county  has 
furnished  one  Governor — Augustus  C.  French 
—1846  and  1849;  in  1839  Wickliffe  Kitch- 
ell  was  attorney-general;  James  C.  Allen  rep- 
resented the  district  in  the  33d,  34th  and  3Sth 
Congress;  James  C.  Allen,  circuit  judge,  1873; 
and  in  1879  Wm.  C.  Jones,  of  Crawford,  was 
elected  circuit  judge,  and  fills  the  office  at  the 
present  time. 

Township  Orr/anization. — The  county,  as 
we  have  seen,  was  divided  into  three  election 
precincts  at  the  first  session  of  the  court,  viz.: 
Allison,  Lamotte  and  Union.  As  population 
increased,  other  counties  were  formed  out  of 
the  vast  territory  of  Crawford,  Clark  being 
set  off  in  1819,  Lawrence  in  18'il,  and  .Jasper 
in  1831:  thus  reduaing  the  area  of  Crawford 
to  its  present  dimensions.  From  the  time 
when  it  was  laid  oil  into  three  precincts,  its 
civil  divisions  were  changed,  divided  and 
sub-divided,  to  suit  the  extent  of  territory 
and  the  increased  population.  Under  the 
regime  of  commissioners,  the  county  was  di- 
vided into  a  certain  number  of  election  pre- 
cincts which,  with  various  changes,  was  at 
the  close  of  the  late  war  as  follows:  Hutson- 
ville,  Robinson,  Watts,  Licking,  Martin, 
Franklin,  Embarras,  Northwest,  Montgom- 
ery, Oblong,  Palestine,  Southwest.  The 
Constitution  adopted  in  1847-8,  contained 
the  provision  of  township  organization — a 
provision  that  was  to  be  voted  on  by  the  peo- 
ple of  each  county,  and  leaving  it  optional 
with  them  to  adopt  or  reject  it  in  their  re- 
spective counties.  In  accordance  with  the 
provisions  of  that  Constitution,  and  in  obedi- 
ence to  a  demand  from  the  people  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  State,  who  had  observed 
its  practical  workings  in  the  eastern  States, 
the  first  township  organization  act  was  passed 
by  the  Legislature.  But  the  law,  in  attempt- 
ing to  put  it  into  practical  operation,  dis- 
closed radical   defects.     It   was   revised  and 


amended  at  the  session  of  1851,  substantially 
as  it  has  existed  until  the  recent  revision  in 
1871.  The  adoption  of  township  organiza- 
tion marks  an  era  in  many  of  the  counties  of 
the  State.  The  northern  part  of  the  State, 
settled  by  people  from  the  east,  principally, 
and  who,  as  we  have  said,  were  familiar 
with  the  township  system,  adopted  it  first, 
the  people  in  the  southern  part  being  much 
more  slow  to  take  hold  of  it. 

Crawford  County  adopted  township  organ- 
ization in  1868,  and  the  county  was  divided 
into  townships  as  follows:  All  the  territory 
known  by  Government  survey  as  the  north 
half  of  township  6  north,  range  12  west;  all  of 
township  7  north,  range  13  west,  except  one 
mile  in  width  on  the  north  side;  also  one 
mile  in  width  off  the  east  side  of  township  6 
north,  range  13  west,  and  sections  12,  13,  24, 
25  and  36  of  township  7  north,  range  13 
west,  was  formed  into  one  township,  and 
called  Robinson.  All  the  territory  in  frac- 
tional township  8  north,  range  11  west,  and 
all  of  township  8  north,  range  13  west,  also 
one  mile  in  width  off  the  east  side  of  town- 
ship 8  north,  range  13  west;  also  one  mile  in 
width  off  the  north  side  of  township  7  north, 
ranges  11  and  13  west,  and  section  1  of 
township  7  north,  range  13  west — was  formed 
into  a  township  and  called  Hutsonville.  All 
of  township  8  north,  range  13  west,  except 
one  mile  in  width  off  the  east  side;  also  frac- 
tional township  8  north,  range  14  west;  also 
sections  3,  3,  4,  5  and  6  of  township  7  north, 
range  13  west,  and  sections  1  and  3  of  town- 
ship 7  north,  range  14  west,  was  formed  into 
a  township  and  called  Licking.  All  of  town- 
ship 7  north,  range  13  west,  except  one  mile 
in  width  off  the  north  and  east  sides;  also  all 
of  fractional  township  7  north,  range  14  west, 
and  sections  1  and  3  on  the  north  side;  also 
the  north  half  of  township  6  north,  range  13 
west,  except  sections  1,  13  and  13;  and  mirth 
'    half  of  fractional   township  6  north,  range  14 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


53 


Avest,  was  to  be  known  as  Oblong  Township. 
All  of  fractional  township  7  north,  ranpje  10 
west,  also  township  7  north,  range  11  west, 
except  one  mile  in  width  on  the  north  side, 
and  the  north  half  of  township  6  north, 
ranges  10  and  11  west,  to  be  known  as  Pales- 
tine Township.  All  of  fractional  township  5 
north,  range  10  west,  and  the  south  half  of 
fractional  township  6  north,  range  10  west, 
also  fractional  township  5  north,  ranfre  11 
west,  and  the  south  half  of  township  6  north, 
range  11  west,  was  to  be  known  as  Franklin 
Township.  All  of  fractional  township  5  north, 
range  13  west,  also  the  south  half  of  township 
6  north,  range  13  west,  also  sections  1,  12,  13 
and  24  of  township  5  north,  range  13  west, 
and  sections  2i,  25  and  36  of  township  6 
north,  range  13  west,  to  be  known  as  Hebron 
Township.  All  of  township  5  north,  range 
13  west,  except  sections  1,  12,  13  and  24,  also 
south  half  of  township  6  north,  range  13 
west,  except  sections  24,  25  and  36,  also  frac- 
tional township  5  north,  range  14  west,  and  the 
south  half  of  township  6  north,  range  14  west, 
was  to  be  known  as  Hardin  Township.  Upon 
reporting  tlie  names  to  the  Auditor  of  State, 
it  was  found  that  four  of  the  new  townships 
bore  the  same  names  as  townships  in  other 
counties  of  the  State,  and  the  following 
changes  were  made:  Palestine  was  changed 
to  Lamotte;  Hardin  to  Martin;  Hebron  to 
Honey  Creek,  and  Franklin  to  Montgomery 
Township. 

The  first  Board  of  Supervisors  elected  was 
as  follows:  Robinson  Township,  Dwight 
Newton;  Palestine  Township,  John  D.  Shep- 
ard;  Hutsonville  Township,  John  Newlin,  Sr. ; 
Licking  Township,  R.  R.  Lincoln;  Oblong 
Township,  Wm.  M.  Douglas;  Hardin  Town- 
ship, R.  E.  Haskins;  Hebron  Township,  Henry 
Wierich,  and  Franklin  Township,  .Ino.  R. 
Rich.  Since  the  division  of  the  county  into 
townships  as  described  above,  Southwest 
Township  has   Ijcph   formed,   comprising  the 


territory  south  of  the  Enibarras  River.  At 
present  the  townships  are  represented  in  the 
Board  of  Supervisors  as  follows:  Robinson, 
John  Collins;  Hutsonville,  Simpson  Cox; 
Lamotte,  T.  N.  Rafferty;  Montgomery,  Thos. 
R.  Kent;  Oblong,  D.  T.  Newbold;  Honey 
Creek,  George  H.  Mixwell;  Licking,  F.  iL 
Niblo;  Martin,  John  Mulvane,  and  South- 
west, J.  C.  Spillman. 

The  township  system  of  Illinois  is  not 
closely  modeled  after  the  New  England 
States.  There  a  Representative  is  sent  di- 
rectly from  each  town  to  the  lower  House  of 
the  Legislature.  In  New  York,  owing  to  her 
vast  extent  of  territory,  this  was  found  to  be 
impracticable,  and  a  countj-  assembly,  denom- 
inated a  Board  of  Supervisors,  composed  of  a 
member  from  each  township,  was  then  estab- 
lished. This  modified  system  has  been  copied 
almost  exactly  in  this  State. 

Townships  are  often  compared  by  writers 
to  petty  republics,  possessing  unlimited  sov- 
ereignty in  matters  of  local  concern;  and 
Boards  of  Supervisors  are  often  popularly 
supposed  to  be  vested  with  certain  limited 
legislative  powers.  Neither  is  the  case. 
"Both  the  county  and  township  boards  are 
the  mere  fiscal  agents.  They  hold  the  purse- 
strings  of  the  counties;  they  may  contract, 
incur  debts,  or  create  liabilities — very  great 
powers,  it  is  true — but  they  can  not  prescribe 
or  vary  the  duties,  nor  control  in  anjr  manner 
the  county  or  township  officers  authorized  bv 
law.  While  the  Count\'  Court  of  three  mem- 
bers is  a  smaller,  and,  therefore,  as  a  rule,  more 
manageable  or  controllable  body  by  outside 
influences,  there  is  little  doubt  that  a  Board 
of  Supervisors  is  not  only  more  directlv  ex- 
pensive, but  also  that  a  thousand  and  one 
pett\'  claims  of  every  conceivable  character, 
having  no  foundation  in  law  or  justice,  are 
constantly  presented,  and  being  loosely  in- 
vestigated, and  tacitly  allowed,  aggregate  no 
insi::);iiificant  sum. 


OHAPTEE    Y.* 


THE    BENCH    AND    BAR— JUSTICE    AND    HER  SCALES— FIRST  COURTS  AND  WHAT  THEY 

DID—SOME    OF     THE     EARLY    JUDGES— DIFFERENT    JUDICIAL    DISTRICTS  — 

THE  FIRST  RESIDENT  LAWYERS— KITCHELL,  JANNEY,  FRENCH, 

ETC.— THEIR  LEGAL  ABILITY  AND  SOCIAL  TRAITS - 

OTHER  LAWYERS  OF  THE  COUNTY'— THE 

PRESENT  BAR,  ETC.,  ETC. 


"Let  us  consider  the  reason  of  the  case.  For  no- 
thing is  Law  that  is  not  reason." 

• — Sir  John  Powell. 

"Where  the  law  ends,  tyranny  begins." 

—Pit/. 

"The  law  is  a  sort  of  hocus  pociis  science  that 
smiles  in  yer  face  while  it  picks  yer  pocket,  and  the 
glorious  uncertainty  of  it  is  of  mair  use  to  the  pro- 
fessors of  it,  than  the  justice  of  it." 

— Macklin. 

THE  first  two  of  the  above  cjuotations  are 
from  men  who,  by  lives  of  stuJy  and 
toil,  had  accjuired  eminence  in  the  world  as 
lawyers  and  as  statesmen.  Tiie  last  is  from 
one  who  knew  nothing  of  the  law;  who  was 
ignorant  of  its  theory  and  practice,  and  rep- 
resents a  common,  but  utterly  mistaken 
view,  both  of  the  law  and  its  administration. 
The  law  has  grown  out  of  the  struggles  of 
nations,  states,  classes  and  individuals  against 
■wrong  and  for  the  right.  "All  the  law  in  the 
world  has  been  obtained  by  strife.  Everv 
jirinciple  of  law  which  obtains,  had  first  to  be 
■wrung  by  force  from  those  who  denied  it;  and 
every  legal  right — the  legal  rights  of  a  whole 
nation,  as  well  as  those  of  individuals — sup- 
poses a  continual  readiness  to  assert  it  and 
defend  it.  The  law  is  not  a  mere  theory, 
but  a  living  force,  and  hence  it  is  that  jus- 
tice, which  in  one  hand  holds  the  scales  in 
which  she  weighs    the    right,  carries    in    the 


*  By  Hon.  E.  Callalian. 


other  the  sword  with  which  she  executes  it. 
Tho  sword  without  the  scales  is  brute  force; 
the  scales  without  the  sword,  is  the  impotence 
of  law.  The  scales  and  the  sword  belong  to- 
gether, and  the  state  of  the  law  is  perfect  only 
where  the  power  with  which  justice  carries 
the  sword  is  equaled  by  the  skill  with  wiiich 
she  holds  the  scales."  No  men  have  more 
power,  or  are  clothed  vyith  more  responsibility, 
than  judges  and  lawyers  who  are  the  ministers 
of  justice  in  society,  and  the  history  of  a  State 
or  a  county  would  be  incomplete  which  omitted 
to  mention  the  men  who  have  set  on  the 
bench  and  practiced  at  the  bar  in  its  courts. 
The  first  court  of  record  held  in  Crawford 
County,  as  elsewhere  stated,  was  held  at  the 
house  of  Edward  N.  Cullom  o;i  the  15th  dav 
of  September,  A.  D.  1817,  by  the  Hon.  Thomas 
Towlc'S,  Territorial  judge,  from  October  28, 
181.5,  until  the  State  was  admitted  into  the 
union.  The  term  continued  for  two  davs, 
but  all  business  was  completed  on  the  first 
day.  There  is  nothing  in  the  record  disclos- 
ing what  members  of  the  bar  were  present. 
There  were  five  civil  cases  on  the  docket,  and 
four  indictments  were  returned,  two  were  fir 
assault  and  battery,  one  for  selling  whiskv 
to  Indians,  and  one  for  "  bringing  home  a 
hog  without  the  ears."  The  first  term  of 
court  held  after  the  State  was  admitted  into 
the  union  was  a  special  term,  held  on  the  7th 
day  of  .July,  A.  D.  1819,  by  the  Hon.  Thomas 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COU.VTV. 


65 


C.  Brown  who  was  ono  of  the  judges  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  from  October  9th,  1818,  until 
January  18th  1835.  This  was  the  term  at 
which  Vniliam  Killbuck,  Captain  Thomas  and 
B:g  Panther,  were  tried  for  the  murder  of 
Thomas  McCall.  AVilliara  "Wilson  was  the 
circuit  a'^tornev,  and  William  Bado-er  was 
^\v•orn  as  his  assistant.  It  does  not  appear 
l.om  the  record  who  was  counsel  for  the  de- 
fendants, or  vvhat,  if  any,  attorneys  were  pres- 
ent at  this  term. 

.fudge  Brown  held  all  the  courts,  until 
October,  1824,  when  William  AVilson,  who 
was  one  of  the  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court 
from  July  7th,  1819,  to  December  4th,  1848, 
held  the  court  for  a  single  term.  The  writer 
never  knew  .Judge  Wilson  until  after  his  re- 
tirement from  the  bench,  and  can  only  speak 
of  him  from  iiis  record  as  a  judge  and  the 
traditions  of  him,  that  still  exist  among  the 
older  members  of  the  bar.  As  a  judge  his 
written  opinions  are  short,  clear,  and  satis- 
factory. They  are  models  of  brevity,  and 
generally  contained  nothing  but  good  law. 
Ills  judicial  record  stands  in  the  history  of 
the  State  untarnished  by  a  single  act  that  did 
not  comport  with  the  dignity  of  his  office. 
J  udge  Wilson  was  a  great  lover  of  stories,  and 
would  often  entertain  his  listeners  with 
marvelous  tales  of  great  herds  of  cattle  and 
immense  agricultural  productions  which  had 
no  existence  except  in  imagination.  He  re- 
sided in  White  County  and  died  several  j'ears 
ago,  at  a  very  advanced  old  age. 

On  the  division  of  the  State  into  circuits  in 
1824,  James  O.  Wattles  was  elected  judge  of 
the  fifth  judicial  circuit,  which  included  the 
county  of  Crawford.  He  was  commissioned 
January  19,  1825,  and  legislated  out  of 
office  by  the  act  of  January  12,  1827.  Noth- 
itig  is  known,  or  can  be  gathered  from  old 
citizens,  of  the  personal  history  or  character 
of  Judge  Wattles.  James  Hall,  judge  of 
the    fourth    circuit,  held  the  November  term 


1825,  but  was  never  one  of  the  judges  elected 
to  hold  the  courts  in  Crawford  County.  On 
the  fourth  day  of  January,  1835,  Justin 
Harlan,  of  Clark  County,  was  commissionrd 
as  judge  of  the  fourth  circuit,  which  th'iii 
included  this  county,  and  continued  to  hold 
the  courts  until  the  year  1859,  when  the 
twenty-fifth  circuit  was  created,  and  Alfred 
Kitchell,  of  Richland  County,  was  elected 
judge  in  the  now  circuit.  He  was  succeeded 
in  1861  by  James  C.  Allen,  then  a  resident  of 
this  county.  .Judge  Allen  resigned  in  De- 
cember, 18(32,  having  been  elected  to  Con- 
gress, and  Aaron  Shaw,  of  Lawrence  County, 
was  elected  to  iUl  the  vacancy. 

Judge  Shaw  is  a  native  of  the  State  of  Now 
York,  but  came  to  Illinois  while  ayouncr  man 
and  resided  at  I^awrenceville  until  about  the 
year  1870,  when  he  removed  to  Olnej' in 
Richland  Couiit3'.  His  reputation  has  been 
that  of  a  criminal  rather  than  a  civil  lawyer. 
He  has  always  had  a  large  practice  and  has 
been  a  successful  lawyer.  He  is  impulsive 
and  often  stormy  at  the  bar,  but  on  the  bench 
he  was  always  courteous,  dignified  and  impar- 
tial. He  has  been  a  member  of  Congress  and 
is  now  the  member  elect  from  the  16th  con- 
gressional district  of  Illinois. 

In  the  year  1865  the.  county  was  again 
placed  in  the  fourth  circuit,  and  Hiram  B. 
Decius,  of  Cumberland  County,  was  elected 
and  commissioned  on  the  first  day  of  Decem- 
ber, A.  D.  1865.  He  was  re-elected  and  re- 
commissioned  on  the  27th  day  of  June,  A.  D. 
1869.  .Judge  Decius,  was  a  native  of  the 
State  of  Ohio,  but  came  to  Cumberland 
County  when  a  boy.  His  ojiportunitios  for 
accjuiring  an  education  were  very  poor,  but  he 
improved  them  to  the  best  possible  advan- 
tage, and  read  law  after  he  reached  his  man- 
hood. He  was  a  successful  practitioner  and 
during  his  lifetime  acquired  a  large  estate. 
He  was  a  rough,  but  vigorous  thinker  and 
talker.     In  politics  he  was  a   democrat,    and 


56 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


one  who  clung  to  the  doctrines  and  tradi- 
tions "  of  his  party.  In  religion  he  was  a 
liberal  ist  of  the  broadest  gauge. 

After  the  ado]ition  of  the  constitution  of 
1870,  Crawford  County  was  again  in  the 
21st  circuit,  and  .James  C.  Allen  was,  on  the 
2d  day  of  .June,  1873,  elected  judge  for  a  term 
of  six  years. 

James  C.  Allen  was  born  in  Shelby  County, 
Ky.,  on  the  22d  day  of  .January,  A.  D.  1822, 
and  removed  with  his  father  to  Parke  County, 
Indiana,  in  the  year  A.  D.  1830.  He  lived 
*  on  a  farm  until  1840,  attending  the  public 
school  in  the  winter  season  and  then  spent 
two  years  at  the  county  seminary  in  Rockvillo. 
He  then  entered  the  law-office  of  Howard  & 
Wright,  of  Rockville,  Ind.,  and  pursued  liis 
legal  studies  until  January,  A.  D.  18-±4r,  when 
he  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  located  at 
Sullivan,  Ind.,  and  in  1845  was  elected  State's 
attorney  for  the  seventh  judicial  circuit  of 
the  State.  At  the  end  of  his  term  of  office 
he  removed  to  Palestine,  Illinois,  and  sought 
health  in  farming,  not,  however,  abandoning 
his  profession.  He  formed  a  partnership  with 
Franklin  Robb,  Esq.,  of  Robinson,  which  con- 
tinued until  his  election  to  Congress  in 
1852.  In  November,  1852,  he  was  elected  to 
the  State  Legislature,  and  obtained  notoriety 
by  his  opposition  to  what  was  known  as 
"State  Policy."  This  policy  opposed  the 
chartering  of  any  railroad  which  terminated 
at  or  near  any  city  outside  of  the  State  of 
Illinois,  or  that  would  tend  to  carry  the  trade 
of  the  State  beyond  its  own  borders.  It  was 
an  extreme  phase  of  the  doctrine  of  State 
rights.  Men  look  back  now  and  wonder  that 
it  should  have  been  advocated  by  men  of  the 
brilliancy  of  Linder  and  the  ability  of  Palmer. 
The  Vandalia  line  and  the  Ohio  and  Missis- 
sippi Railroad  Company  were  seeking  charters 
to  build  roads  to  terminate  at  East  St.  Ijouis. 
The  advocates  of  State  policy  were  deter- 
mined to  defeat  them  unless  thev  terminated 


at  Alton.  Mr.  Allen  held  that  railroads 
should  be  chartered  and  built  wherever  the 
business  interests  of  the  country  at  large  re- 
quired, and  was  the  leader  in  the  house  of 
this  liberal  policy.  His  attack  upon  State 
policy  was  able,  earnest  and  successful,  and 
was  heartily  indorsed  by  his  constituents. 
He  was  also  opposed  to  the  system  of  bank- 
ing established  by  the  Legislature  in  1852, 
which  has  since  resulted  in  disaster  to  the 
business  interests  of  the  country. 

The  reputation  which  he  had  acquired  in 
the  State  Legislature  resulted  in  his  election 
to  congress  in  the  7th  district  in  November, 
1852;  he  was  re-elected  in  1854,  and  was  then 
elected  clerk  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
that  met  on  the  first  Monday  of  December,  A. 
D.  1858.  Over  this  house  lie  presided  dur- 
ing the  memorable  contest  for  the  election  of 
a  speaker,  which  resulted  in  the  election  of 
Mr.  Penington,  of  New  Jersey.  This  was  at  a 
time  when  bad  blood  was  at  fever  heat,  and 
the  difficulties  of  his  position  as  the  presiding 
officer  of  an  unorganized  body  of  excited  men 
were  very  great.  But  he  so  discharged  the 
duties  of  his  position  as  to  receive  a  unanimous 
vote  of  thanks  at  the  end  of  the  contest.  In 
1860  he  was  the  candidate  of  the  democratic 
party  for  governor  of  Illinois,  and  made  a 
canvass  which  commanded  the  admiration  of 
both  his  political  friends  and  opponents, 
but  was  beaten  by  Hon.  Richard  Yates. 
In  1862  he  was  elected  to  Congress  for  the 
State  at  large,  as  a  "war  democrat"  over 
Eben  C.  IngersoU,  a  brother  of  Hon.  Robert 
G.  IngersoU.  During  this  term  in  Congress 
he  possessed  the  confidence  of  President 
Lincoln,  and  voted  for  every  appropriation 
of  men  and  money  which  was  asked  by 
the  administration  to  prosecute  the  war. 
Mr.  Lincoln  tendered  him  the  command 
of  a  brigade,  to  be  known  as  the  Ken- 
tucky brigade.  This  position  he  declined  on 
the  ground  that    he  had  not  the  military    ex- 


HISTORY  OF  CRAAVFORD  COUXTY. 


57 


perience  or  trainiiinr  necessary  to  fit  him  for 
so  responsible  a  position.  He  was  re-nomi- 
nated for  Congress  for  the  State  at  large  in 
186i,  but  was  defeated  by  Hon  S.  W.  Moul- 
ton,  the  republican  candidate.  In  1879  he 
was  elected,  without  opposition,  a  member  of 
the  State  constitutional  convention,  which 
Met  in  January,  A.  1).  1870,  and  framed  the 
present  State  constitution.  In  this  conven- 
tion he  was  chairman  of  the  committee  on 
the  I^cgislative  Department,  and  is  very 
largely  the  author  of  the  legislative  article  in 
the  constitution  which  was  adopted  as  it  came 
from  the  committee.  In  June,  1873,  he  was 
elected  judge  of  the  Circuit  Court,  which 
office  he  held  until  1879.  In  1877  after  the 
Appellate  Court  was  created  he  was  appoint- 
ed by  the  Supreme  Court,  one  of  the  Appel- 
late Judges  for  the  fourth  district,  and  until 
1879  discharged  the  duties  of  an  Appellate 
Judge  in  addition  to  his  service  on  the  cir- 
cuit bench.  In  the  fall  of  1876  he  removed 
to  Olney  in  Richland  County,  where  he  still 
resides.  After  he  left  the  bench  he  resumed 
the  practice  of  his  profession,  and  is  still  en- 
gaged in  it.  Judge  Allen  is  a  man  of  rare 
natural  endowments,  a  splendid  physical 
organization  and  a  commanding  presence  sup- 
j)lemonted  with  a  voice  that  is  equally  music- 
al in  telling  a  story  or  singing  a  song,  makes 
him  a  welcome  guest,  in  any  and  every  circle. 
He  has  been  too  much  in  politics  to  make 
what  is  called  a  close  lawyer,  but  his  knowl- 
edge of  the  fundamental  orinciples  of  the  law 
is  thorough,  and  both  as  a  judge  and  as  a  law- 
yer he  uses  this  knowledge  to  the  best  possible 
advantage.  He  is  largely  gifted  with  that 
kind  of  sense  which  enables  him  to  grasp  read- 
ily and  correctly  the  common  questions  of 
life  and  controversies  of  business.  This  of- 
ten serves  him  better  tl;  ji  the  learning  of 
books.  He  is  an  able  advocate  before  a 
jury:  often  eloquent,  and  always  impressive, 
ardent,  and  impulsive,  he  sometimes    strikes 


blows  that  seem  uncalled  for,  but  is  ever 
ready  to  undo  a  wrong.  As  a  judga  he  pre- 
sided with  dignity,  unless  overcome  by  some- 
thing funny  or  ludicrous.  He  was  sometimes 
accused  of  scolding  the  bar  to  amuse  the  laity. 
His  uprightness  and  integrity  were  unques- 
tioned; in  politics  he  is  arraditional  democrat; 
in  religion,  a  Presbyterian. 

Alfred  Kitchell  was  born  at  Palestine  in  the 
year  A.  D.  1820.  His  education,  excepting 
three  terms  at  the  Indiana  State  University, 
was  such  as  could  be  obtained  in  the  com- 
mon schools.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
December,  A.  D.  1841,  and  in  1842  entered 
the  practice  at  Olney  in  Richland  County. 
In  January,  1843,  he  was  elected  State's  at- 
torney for  the  fourth  circuit,  and  was  re- 
elected in  1845.  He  -nas  a  member  of  the 
constitutional  convention  of  1847,  and  in  1849 
he  was  elected  county  judge  of  Richland 
Count}'.  In  1859  he  was  elected  to  the  cir- 
cuit bench  in  the  twenty-fifth  circuit.  He 
assisted  to  establish  the  first  newspaper  ever 
published  in  Olney.  In  politics  he  was  an 
anti-slavery  democrat,  and  naturally  opposed 
the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  and 
the  extension  of  slavery.  His  principles  led 
him  out  of  the  democratic  party,  and  in  1856 
he  assisted  in  the  organization  of  the  repub- 
lican party,  with  which  he  acted  until  his 
death  in  November,  A.  D.  1876.  He  was  an 
active  promoter  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi 
Railway,  and  was  opposed  to  what  was  then 
called  "State  policy." 

Judge  Kitchell  was  at  the  Crawford  County 
Bar  for  many  years,  and  is  remembered  by  its 
older  members  as  one  of  the  most  pleasing 
and  gentlemanly  of  lawj^ers.  He  was  always 
courteous  in  his  intercourse  with  others.  As 
an  advocate  he  was  clear  and  practical  rather 
than  eloquent.  His  standard  of  honor  and 
integrity  was  a  high  one,  and  he  lived  well 
up  to  it. 

Though  he  left  the  count v  before  he  was 


58 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


admitted  to  the  bar,  the  fact  that  he  was  born 
and  lived  to  manhood  in  the  county,  and  then 
returned  to  it,  both  as  a  lawyer  and  a  judge, 
entitles  him  to  a  place  in  its  history. 

In  1877  the  judicial  system  was  so  changed 
as  to  create  the  State  into  thirteen  circuits 
and  provide  for  the  election  of  one  judge  in 
each  circuit,  to  hold  until  the  year  1879,  when 
three  judges  should  be  elected  in  each  of  the 
thirteen  circuits.  Under  this  change  John 
H.  Hatly,  of  Jasper  County,  was  elected  in 
the  second  circuit,  and  held  tlie  courts  of  this 
county  during  his  term  of  office.  Judge  Ral- 
ly is  a  Virginian  by  birth,  and  resided,  until 
near  the  close  of  the  war,  in  the  south.  He 
was  "subjugated"  before  many  of  his  com- 
rades in  the  southern  army,  and  came  north 
to  avoid  the  final  catastrophe.  His  literary 
and  legal  education  are  both  liberal,  and 
•when  aroused  he  is  a  formidable  adversary  in 
a  lawsuit.  He  is  eminently  social  and  loves 
the  sports  of  a  Virginia  gentleman.  The 
music  of  his  splendid  pack  of  hounds  falls 
pleasantly  on  his  ear,  and  he  joins  in  the 
chase  with  the  utmost  eagerness.  He  justly 
enjovs  a  large  practice,  and  is  held  in  high 
esteem  by  those  who  know  him,  both  as  a 
man  and  a  lawyer. 

On  the  IGth  day  of  June,  1879,  Chauncy 
S.  Conger,  of  White  County,  Thomas  S. 
Casey,  of  Jefferson  County,  and  William  C. 
Jones,  of  Crawford  County,  were  elected 
judges  in  the  second  circuit.  Since  tliat 
time  the  courts  in  this  county  have  been 
held  by  Judge  Jones,  excepting  when  changes 
of  venue   called   in  one  of  the  other  judges. 

Judge  Jones  was  born  at  Hutsonville,  July 
15th,  1848.  His  father,  Caswell  Jones,  Esq., 
was  a  successful  merchant,  and  died  in  March, 
1853.  His  mother  was  mari'ied  to  E.  Callahan, 
in  June,  1855;  in  18G1  Mr.  Callahan,  removed 
to  Robinson  and  opened  a  law  office.  Young 
Jones,  of  his  own  choice,  went  into  the  Moni- 
tor newspaper  office,  and    for  near  one   year 


performed  the  duties  of  the  youngest  ap- 
prentice. In  1863,  he  entered  as  a  student 
in  the  Oliio  Wesleyan  University,  where 
he  remained  for  tiirec  years.  In  18G7  he 
read  law  in  the  office  of  Messrs.  Callahan 
&  Steel,  after  which  he  attended  a  course  of 
law  lectures  at  the  Iilichigan  State  Uni- 
versity at  Ann  Arbor.  He  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  May  9th,  1SG8,  and  in  June  formed  a 
Copartenship  with  Mr.  Callahan  which  con- 
tinued for  ten  years.  On  the  •^5th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1809,  he  married  to  Mary  H.  Steel,  daugli- 
ter  of  James  H.  Steel,  Esq.,  then  a  member 
of  the  Crawford  County  Bar.  In  November, 
1870,  he  was  elected  member  of  the  27th 
General  Assembly.  In  November,  1877,  he 
was  elected  judge  of  the  County  Court, 
which  office  he  filled  with  entire  satisfaction 
to  all  parties  until  June  1879,  when  he  was 
elected  to  the  circuit  bench.  He  has 
brouirht  with  him  into  the  judicial  office 
that  unflagging  industry,  and  energy,  and 
high  sense  of  justice  and  right,  wliich  have 
made  his  life  a  success.  He  is  still  a  young 
man,  and  one  of  whom  his  friends  expect  much 
in  the  future.  He  resides  in  Robinson  and 
takes  a  lively  interest  in  the  affairs  of  his 
town  and  county.  He  is  a  democrat  in  poli- 
tic.*, and  has  always  been  elected  as  a  par- 
tisan candidate.  He  belongs  to  no  church, 
but  believes  in  the  Bible  and  the  doctrine  of 
the  Christian  religion. 

It  is  impossible  to  notice  the  lawyers  of  the 
bar  in  the  order  in  which  they  properly 
stand,  and  all  that  can  be  done  is  to  give  them 
severally  such  mention  as  the  writer  has  been 
able  to  gather  from  the  data  at  his  com- 
mand. 

Wickliffe  Kitchell  wns  born  on  May  21st, 
1789,  in  the  State  of  New  Jersey.  He  was 
descended  from  Robert  Kitchell,  who  came 
from  England  in  the  year  16:!9,  and  was  the 
leader  of  a  community  of  Puritans  who  set- 
tled   at    Cjruili'ord    Colony    of    Connecticut. 


HISTORY  OF  (RAWFORI)  COUXTV. 


59 


Robert  removed  to  Newark,  New  .Jersey,  in 
ItitiO,  where  many  of  desoendants  still  reside. 
Early  in  the  present  century  Asa  Kitchell, 
the  father  of  VVickliffe  removed  with  his  fam- 
ily to  what  was  then  the  "  far  west,"  and 
WicUliffe  reached  his  majority  in  the  vicinity 
of  what  is  now  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  School 
privileges  were  in  those  early  days,  extremely 
limited,  and  the  time  spent  b}-  him  at  school, 
according  to  his  repeated  statement,  did  not 
exceed  two  or  three  months;  but  between  the 
hours  of  laljor,  and  by  the  fire-lii;ht  at  night, 
he  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  fair  English  edu- 
cation, sufficient  for  the  practical  duties  of 
life.  On  the  29Lh  of  February,  1812,  he  mar- 
ried Elizabeth  Ross,  with  whom  his  early 
childhood  has  been  passed,  and  who,  with  her 
parents,  had  emigrated  from  New  Jersey  in 
company  with  the  Kitchell  family. 

About  the  year  181-i  he  removed  to  south- 
ern Indiana,  upon  White  River.  That  portion 
of  the  country  was  then  an  almost  unbroken 
wilderness  and  was  largely  occupied  by  tribes 
of  hostile  Indians,  and  lie  and  his  wife  and 
family,  with  other  families,  wei-e  often  com- 
])elled  to  seek  shelter  and  security  in  the  forts 
and  block-houses  that  existed  here  and  there 
in  the  thinly  settled  region.  He  was  elected 
sheriiT  of  the  county  in  which  he  resided 
(pre.-umably  Jackson  County),  and  was,  of 
course,  thrown  much  in  contact  with  lawyers 
and  others  in  attendance  upon  the  courts, 
and  he  determined  to  read  law.  He  obtained 
possession  of  a  few  text-books,  and  those  he 
read  by  the  light  of  log  fires  and  during  rainy 
days.  While  clearing  ground  about  his 
Indiana  cabin  he  cut  his  foot  with  an  ax  so 
severely  as  to  lame  him  for  life;  and  this 
accident  served  to  strengthen  his  resolutioTi 
to  continue  in  his  course  of  reading-,  and  he 
was  eventually  admitted  to  the  bar.  In  1817 
he  removed  to  Palestine,  Illinois,  where  he  re- 
sided until  in  the  year  ]  838.  He  was  a  soldier 
in  tlie  Black  Hawk  war,   but  was   coinpuUed 


to  return  before  its  conclusion  on   account  of 
the    lameness    of   his    foot.     He  thought  the 
war  was  cruel  and    unnecessary,    and    never 
failed  to  comment  severely  upon  the  manner 
in  which  it  was  prosecuted.     He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  lower  house   of  the  General  As- 
sembly  of   1820-21   from   Crawford   County. 
In  the  spring  of  1838  he  removed  to  Hillsboro, 
Montgomery  County,  Illinois,  in  order  to  give 
his  children  the  advantages  of  the   excellent 
schools  then  flourishing  at  that  place.     He  was 
again  elected  a  member    of    the    Legislature 
from  Montgomery  County  in  IS-tl.     He  held 
the  office  of  State's  Attorney  for  several  years. 
In  1839  he  was  appointed  Attorney  General 
of  the  State  and  held  that  office  for  one  year. 
In  1847  he  moved   with  the   remnant  of  his 
family,    to   Fort  Madison,    Iowa,     remaining 
there  for  seven  years,  and  again   returned  to 
Hillsboro,  Montgomery  County.     He  had  the 
true  pioneer  spirit,  and  only  declining  years 
prevented   him    from   going   to    the    Pacific 
coast.     After  the  death  of  his   wife,    October 
5th,  1802,  having  ceased   to  practice  his  pro- 
fession,   he   spent    the   remainder  of  his  days 
with  his  children,  who  were  settled  at  diflfer- 
ent  places  in  Illinois  and  Indiana,  and  mostly 
with    his    youngest    son,  John    W.,  at  Pana, 
•Christian  County,  Illinois,  and  where  he  died 
on  the  2d  of  February,   18GD,   at  the  ripe  age 
of  80  years. 

From  the  time  of  its  organization  until 
1854  he  was  a  member  of  the  democratic 
party.  In  that  year,  objecting  strongly  to  the 
ground  taken  by  the  party  on  the  slavery  ques- 
tion he  abandoned  the  organization  forever 
and  took  strong,  anti-Nebraska  ground.  He 
was  present  as  a  delegate  at  the  first  Repub- 
lican State  Convention  held  at  Bloomington, 
Illinois,  and  was  a  zealous  supporter  of  that 
party  and  its  policy  until  his  death.  He  re- 
tained to  a  remarkable  degree  his  activity  of 
mind  and  habits  of  physical  labor. 

Eldridge  S.  Janney  was    born   July   12th, 


00 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


ISO  ,  in  Alexandria,  Virginia.  His  father 
was  Thomas  .Tanney,  a  wealthy  merchant,  and 
ship  owner  of  that  city.  Mr.  Janney  was  a 
graduate  of  Nassau  Hall  College,  Princeton, 
New  Jersey,  and  continued  his  reading  of 
chissic  literature  in  the  original  languages 
until  the  shadow  of  total  blindness  fell  upon 
the  pages  of  the  old  authors,  and  hid  them 
from  him  forever.  He  read  law  with  Thomas 
Hewitt,  Esq.,  and  in  18'-i7,  immediately  after 
his  admission  to  the  bar,  came  to  Crawford 
Countj',  and  began  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion. He  was  a  careful,  painstaking  lawyer; 
a  good  special  pleader.  His  address  to  a 
jury  was  terse  and  forcible,  rather  than  elo- 
quent. He  was  a  member  of  the  State  Legisla- 
ture in  the  sessions  of  1844,  and  1846. 

Governor  Ford,  in  his  history  of  the  State 
of  Illinois,  pays  a  high  compliment  to  Mr.  Jan- 
ney, for  his  action  on  the  canal  loan  question, 
which  resulted  in  saving  the  State  from  the 
disgrace  of  repudiation.  In  1853  his  sight 
had  so  far  failed  him,  that  he  was  compelled 
to  abandon  his  profession.^  He  removed  to 
Marshall,  in  the  county  of  Clark,  and  engaged 
in  a  woolen-mill,  which  he  carried  on  until  his 
death  on  the  17th  day  of  December,  A.  D.  1S75. 
In  politics  he  was  a  democrat;  in  rebgion,  a 
liberalist;  in  all  the  relations  of  life,  a  gentle- 
man. 

William  H.  Sterrett  was  born  in  Nova 
Scotia,  and  read  law  with  the  Hon.  Lucius 
Case,  of  Newark,  Ohio.  He  came  to  Robin- 
son, about  the  year  1845,  and  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  his  profession,  and  was  continually 
in  practice  until  1853,  when  he  was  elected 
county  judge.  His  health  was  already  fail- 
ino-,  and  he  abandoned  practice,  and  shortly 
after  the  expiration  of  his  term  as  county 
juda-e  he  returned  to  Nova  Scotia  and  died. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  lower  House  in  the 
eighteenth.  General  Assembly.  As  a  law- 
yer he  was  positive  in  his  positions  when 
taken.     He  was  not  an  orator,  but  an  earnest 


and  zealous  advocate  of  the  cause  of  his 
client.  As  a  judge  he  was  willful  and  arbi- 
trary, and  took  but  little  counsel  beyond  that 
of  his  own  will.  He  administered  the  law 
as  he  understood  it. 

Elihu  McCtilloch  was  a  native  of  South 
Carolina  and  a  graduate  of  Columbia  College. 
He  removed  first  to  Gibson  County,  Indiana. 
In  the  year  A.  D.  184G  he  located  in  Robin- 
son and  engaged  in  the  practice  of  the  law 
and  continued  until  in  the  fall  of  1849  when 
he  died.  He  was  a  brother-in-law  of  Hoii. 
Franklin  Robb,  a  member  of  the  present 
Crawford  County  Bar.  He  was  a  democrat 
in  politics.  A  man  of  industry  and  deeply 
learned  in  the  science  of  law.  He  gave 
promise  of  a  career  of  usefulness  to  the  pub- 
lic and  honor  to  himself. 

Augustus  C.  French,  came  from  New  Eng- 
land to  Edgar  County,  and  represented  that 
countv  in  the  Legislature  of  183G.  In  1839 
h3  removed  to  Palestine,  having  received  an 
appointment  in  the  land-office  at  that  place, 
a  position  he  filled  for  about  three  years.  He 
was  a  man  of  business  as  well  as  law  and 
purchased  lands  south  of  Palestine  which  he 
afterward  converted  into  a  beautiful  country 
seat  which  he  called  "  Maplewood."  In  the 
fall  of  1840  he  was  elected  Governor  of  the 
State,  and  was  re-elected  in  1849  at  the 
election  held  under  the  constitution  of 
1847,  and  was  governor  until  January,  1853, 
when  he  was  succeeded  by  Joel  A.  Matteson, 
of  Will  County.  Governor  French  was  a 
man  who  was  little  understood  by  the  mass 
of  the  people.  His  rigid  economy  in  aff'airs 
of  business  was  called  stinginess,  and  many 
stories  are  still  current  in  regard  to  his 
habit  of  gathering  and  saving  in  small 
thino-s.  When  it  is  known  that  all  his  care 
and  saving  was  to  feed,  clothe  and  educate 
younger  brothers  and  sisters  who  were  de- 
pendent upon  him,  and  that  all  he  made  and 
saved  for  many  years  was  religiously  devoted 


HISTORY  OK  CRAWFORD  COUXTY 


61 


to  that  purpose,  it  presents  his  character  in  a 
iairer  light,  and  a  more  charitable  judgment 
than  has  been  usually  accorded  to  it.  His  ad- 
ministration of  the  alFairs  of  the  State  was 
fininently  successful.  He  never  afterward 
entered  actively  into  the  practice  of  law,  but 
alter  a  few  years  of  leisure  at  Maple  wood,  he 
roMioved  to  Lebanon  and  took  charge  of  the 
law  school  at  ]\[cKendree  College.  He  died 
several  years  ago,  respected  by  all  who  knew 
iiiui,  as  an  honest  man.  Politically  he  was 
a  democrat.  In  reHgion  he  was  a  Methodist. 
George  W.  Peck,  one  of  the  brightest 
ornaments  of  the  Crawford  County  Bar,  was 
born  at  Salem,  and  educated  at  Greencastle, 
Indiana.  He  was  twenty-one  years  of  age 
when  he  located  in  Robinson  in  the  summer 
of  1853.  Old  lawyers  at  once  recognized  his 
worth  and  accorded  to  him  a  high  position  in 
the  profession.  He  rapidly  obtained  a  prac- 
tice which  steadily  increased  until  he  entered 
the  army  in  ISGl.  Ho  was  a  good  special 
pleader,  and  his  address  to  a  jury  was  always 
clear,  logical  and  often  eloquent.  His  mental 
and  physical  organization  were  both  of  very 
fine  texture  and  eminently  fitted  him  for  a 
high  rank  in  the  legal  profession.  He  was  a 
delegate  to  the  national  convention  which 
nominated  Mr.  Lincoln  for  President.  He 
was  a  great  admirer  of  ilr.  Lincoln  |)ersonally 
and  politically,  and  entered  into  the  campaign 
for  his  election  with  all  the  enthusiasm  of  his 
ardent  nature.  He  organized  and  com- 
manded the  "wide  awakes"  and  in  tin's 
showed  a  capacity  for  organization  and  drill 
that  was  extraordinary.  His  speeches  durino- 
this  campaign  ranked  with  those  of  the  best 
orators  of  the  partj'. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  war  he  raised 
a  company  of  men  and  repaired  to  camp  at 
Mattoon.  This  company  became  company 
I  in  the  21st  regiment  of  Illinois  volunteers, 
commanded  by  Col.  U.  S.  Grant.  During 
the    campaign    in  Missouri  he  was  much  ex- 


posed and  contracted  bronchitis,  from  which 
he  never  recovered.  He  remained  with  his 
regiment  and  participated  in  every  battle  in 
which  it  was  engaged,  and  when  Col.  (irant 
was  made  a  general.  Captain  Peck  was  made 
Lieut.  Col.,  and  after  the  death  of  Col.  Alex- 
ander he  commanded  the  regiment  until  he 
was  too  feeble  for  duty  in  the  field.  He  was 
then  detailed  for  duty  as  Provost  Marshal  at 
Louisville,  Ky.,  and  discharged  the  duties  of 
that  position  with  honor  to  himself  and  the 
service  until  his  constitution  broke  down 
entirely  and  compelled  his  resignation,  and  he 
returned  to  his  mother  at  Salem,  Indiana,  to 
die.  He  had  that  rare  courage  that  enabled 
him  on  all  occasions  to  act  as  duty  prompted, 
reason  guided  and  conscience  dictated. 
Though  he  died  young  he  lived  long  enough 
to  win  reputation  as  a  lawyer  and  lame  as  a 
soldier. 

James  N.  Steel  was  Ijorn  in  Philadelphia, 
and  removed  to  Crawford  County  in  his  boy- 
hood. He  was  several  years  clerk  of  the 
county  court,  and  on  his  retirement  from  thai- 
ofBce  read  law,  and  on  the  thirteenth  day  of 
July,  A.  D.  185",  was  admitted  to  the  bar, 
and  commenced  practice.  His  large  acquaint- 
ance and  perfect  familiarity  with  business 
gave  him  at  once  a  large  business.  His  first 
view  of  a  legal  question  was  generally  correct, 
while  further  reasoning  often  led  him  into 
doubt.  He  was  a  fine  special  pleader  and 
very  quick  to  detect  faults  in  the  pleadings 
of  his  adversary.  He  had  a  clear,  intellectual 
face  and  a  pleasant  conversational  voice.  His 
address  to  court  or  jury  was  usually  clear 
and  logical,  and  was  addressed  to  the  judg- 
ment rather  than  to  the  passions.  As  an 
office  lawyer  he  has  had  no  equal  at  the  Craw- 
ford County  Bar.  His  social  qualities  were 
of  a  high  order.  He  was  successful  in  busi- 
ness and  left  a  handsome  property  to  his 
children.  He  was  among  the  first  to  unite 
with  the  republican  party  in  the  county,  and 


62 


flISTOKY  OF  CK.VWFOUD  COUNTY. 


was  a  zealous  advocate  of  its  pi-inciples.  His 
health  failed  and  he  retired  from  practice, 
and  died  in  Robinson  on  second  day  of  De- 
cember, A.  ]).  18r3. 

W.liiain  Clendeniiin  Dickson  came  to  this 
county  from  Indiana  as  a  physician  and  prac- 
ticed medicine  for  several  years  in  Moutpjo- 
mery  and  Honey  Creek  Townships.  He  was 
known  as  an  active  democratic  politician  and 
speaker.  At  the  election  of  1861  he  was 
elected  County  Judge  and  held  that  office 
four  years.  He  had  previously  read  law  and 
was  now  regularly  admitted  to  the  bar,  and 
during  his  life  time  continued  to  practice. 
He  came  to  the  bar  too  late  in  life  and  lived 
too  short  a  time  to  acquire  either  a  large 
practice  or  reputation  as  a  lawyer.  He  died 
at  Robinson  in  the  year  A.  D.  1873. 

Alfred  G.  Lagow  was  a  member  of  the 
C  awford  County  Bar  in  its  early  history  when 
the  courts  were  held  at  Palestine.  The  writer 
has  been  unable  to  learn  the  date  of  his  ad- 
mission to  the  bar  or  the  date  of  his  death. 
From  the  court  records  it  would  appear  that 
his  practice  was  not  large  or  very  long  con- 
tinned,  but  papers  prepared  by  him  still  re- 
maining on  file  show  care  and  legal  skill.  He 
was  a  son  of  Wilson  Lagow,  one  of  the  oldest 
settlers  of  the  county,  and  those  who  remem- 
ber him  speak  of  him  as  a  kind,  pure-hearted 
gentleman. 

Edward  S.  Wilson,  of  the  Richland  County 
Bar,  is  a  native  of  this  county,  and  entered 
the  practice  in  Robinson  about  the  year  1860. 
In  1863  he  was  appointed  State's  attorney  for 
the  circuit  and  for  several  years  discharged 
the  duties  of  that  office  with  ability.  During 
his  official  term  he  removed  to  Olney,  where 
he  ?ti.l  has  a  large  praetice,  and  stands  among 
the  foremost  members  of  the  bar  in  that 
county. 

Henry  C  Firebaugh,  now  a  member  of  the 
San  Francisco  Bar,  is  also  a  native  of  this 
county.     He  read   law  in    the   office  of  Mr. 


Callahan  and  was  admitted  to  practice  in 
1864,  and  remained  a  short  time  in  the  county 
when  he  went  to  California,  where  he  has 
been  rewarded  with  a  very  large  measure  of 
success. 

In  the  olden  time  when  judges  and  lawyers 
"  rode  the  circuit "  together,  such  men  as 
Gen.  W.  F.  Snider,  Hon.  O.  B.  Ficklin,  .Judge 
Charles  H.  Constable,  Joseph  G.  Bowman, 
William  Harrow,  Senator  John  M.  Robinson, 
John  Scholfield  and  E.  B.  Webb  were  often 
seen  at  the  bar  of  this  county  and  talcs  are 
still  told  by  the  "old  settlers"  of  the  con- 
ti'sts  that  took  place  between  these  giants  of 
the  law  in  courts  where  there  were  but 
few  books,  and  plausible  speeches  were  of 
much  more  value  than  they  are  at  the  pres- 
ent time  in  winning  verdicts  from  either  court 
orjurv.  The  limits  of  this  chapter  forbid 
more  than  a  mere  mention  of  the  names  of 
these  old  men,  the  most  of  whom  have  been 
summoned  to  a  "bench  and  bar  beyond  the 
murky  clouds  of  time." 

The  present  bar  of  Crawford  County  con- 
ists  of  the  following  membars: 

The  Hon.  Franklin  Robb  who  was  born 
Februarj'  15,  A.  D.  1817,  in  Gibson  County, 
Indiana,  and  was  licensed  to  practice  law  in 
Indiana  in  January,  A.  D.  ISlo.  Licensed 
in  Illinois  in  the  year  1847,  and  began  prac- 
tice in  Robinson  in  1851. 

Ethelbert  Callahan  was  born  in  Licking 
County,  Ohio,  December  17,  A.  D.  1839. 
Admitted  to  the  bar  in  1860,  and  practiced 
in  Robinson  since  1S61. 

Jacob  C.  Olwin  was  born  December  6, 
1838,  near  Dayton,  Ohio,  and  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1864,  and  has  practiced  in  this  county 
since  that  time. 

George  N.  Parker  was  born  April  9, 
1843,  in  Crawford  County,  Illinois,  and  was 
admitted  to  practice  in  the  State  Courts  June 
IS,  1870,  and  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States  December  9,  A.  D.  1S78. 


'i^&c^e^^a^ 


^^^^i.^^.^^ 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


65 


Presley  G.  Bradbury  was  born  in  Crawford 
County,  Illinois,  October  6,  18i7,  and  ad- 
mitted to  the  l)ar  in  Illinois  on  the  4th  day  of 
July,   1876,  and   in    Indiana   in    November, 

isrs. 

James  O.  Steel  was  born  in  Crawford 
County,  Illinois,  on  the  7th  day  of  Jan- 
uary, 1848,  and  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Jan- 
uary, A.  D.  18r3. 

John  Calvin  Maxwell  was  born  in  Craw- 
ford County,  Illinois,  on  the  26th  day  of 
September,  A.  D.  181:7,  and  admitted  to 
the  bar  on  the  7th  day  of  January,  A.  D. 
1876. 

Singleton  B.  Allen  was  born  in  Parke 
County,  Indiana,  on  the  7th  day  of  Septem- 
ber, A.  D.  1840,  and  admitted  to  the  bar 
in  the  State  of  Illinois,  on  the  29th  day  of 
January,  1863. 

Mathias  C.  Mills  was  born  in  the  State  of 
Indiana  on  the  22d  day  of  February,  A.  D. 
1838,  and  admitted  to  the  bar  in  the  State 
of  Indiana  March  17,  A.  D.  18G1,  and  in  the 
State  of  Illinois  Sept.  27,  A.  D.  1882. 

Alfred   H.   Jones   was   born    in   Crawford 


County,  Illinois,  on  the  -Ith  day  of  July, 
A.  D.  ]850,  and  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Illi- 
nois on  the  14th  day  of  .June,  A.  D.  1875. 

Joseph  B.  Crowley  was  born  in  Coshocton 
County,  Ohio,  on  the  19th  day  of  July, 
A.  D.  1858,  and  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Illi- 
nois on  the  15th  day  of  June,  A.  D.  1882. 

Enoch  E.  Newlin  was  born  in  Crawford 
County,  Illinois,  on  the  22d  of  February, 
A.  D.  1858,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
Illinois  in  June,  A.  D.  1882. 

Lucian  N.  Barlow  was  born  in  Crawford 
Countv,  Illinois,  on  the  1st  day  of  Novem- 
ber, A.  D.  1854,  and  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
Illinois  on  the  17th  day  of  June,  A.  D.  1882. 

The  present  bar  of  Crawford  County  will 
compare  favorably  with  the  bar  of  any  of  the 
surrounding  counties,  both  in  legal  ability 
and  personal  character.  The  majority  of  its 
members  are  young  men  with  the  larger  part 
of  their  professional  life  yet  before  them.  So 
far  they  have  done  well  and  their  present 
standing  gives  promise  that  the  high  charac- 
ter of  the  county  bar  in  the  past  will  be 
maintained  in  the  future. 


CHAPTER    VI. 


INTERNAL  IMPROVEMENTS— THP:  FIRST  ROADS  AND    BRIDGES-KAILROADS-COMINCx    OF 

THE  IRON  HORSE— THE  OLD  WABASH  VALLEY  ROUTE-PARIS  AND    DANVILLE 

—ITS    COMPLETION,    CHANGES    AND    CONDITION-EAST    AND  WEST 

RAILROAD  PROJECTS— THE  NARROW  C4ADGE-VALUE  AND 

ECONOMY  OF  THE  SYSTEM— OTHER  ROADS  THAT 

WERE    NEVER   BUILT,  AND  NEVER 

WILL  BE,  ETC.,  ETC. 


THE  building  of  roads  and  the  construction 
of  highways  and  bridges,  rank  as  the  most 
important  public  improvements  of  a  State  or 
a  county.  When  the  first  whites  came  to 
Crawford  County,  the  canoe  of  the  Indian 
still  shot  along  the  streams;  the  crack  of  his 
rifle  echoed  through  the  solitudes  of  the  great 
forests,  and  the  paths  worn  by  his  moccasined 
feet  were  alone  the  guiding  trails  of  the  emi- 
grant's wagon.  There  were  no  roads  through 
the  country,  nor  bridges  over  the  streams. 
But  as  soon  as  the  white  people  obtained  a 
hold  in  the  country,  and  became  firmly  set- 
tled, they  turned  their  thoughts  to  roads  and 
highways.  Among  the  first  acts  of  the 
County  Court  after  its  organization  was  the 
laying  out  of  a  road  from  the  house  of  Ed- 
ward N.  Cullom's  to  the  head  of  Walnut 
Prairie,  and  another  from  the  same  place  to 
Jones'  ferry.  In  1823  the  first  important 
highway  was  laid  out  under  an  act  of  the  Leg- 
islature, viz:  a  road  from  Palestine  to  Van- 
dalia.  This  was  the  commencement  of  road 
building  in  the  county,  and,  while  the  system 
of  wagon  roads  are  not  of  the  best  quality, 
yet  they  compare  favorably  with  the  roads  in 
any  prairie  country,  where  the  material  for 
macadamizing  is  not  plentiful,  or  to  be  easily 
obtained.     There  are  places  on   the   Wabash 

_     *  By  W.  H.  Perrin.  .  ... 


River,  however,  where  good  material  £or  mak- 
ing roads  may  be  had,  but  the  people  have  not 
yet  awakened  to  the  necessity  of  using  it  for 
that  purpose.  Although  the  roads  of  the 
county  are  poor  in  quality,  they  are  sufficient 
in  quantity  for  all  practical  purposes  and 
matters  of  convenience,  and  may  be  thus 
clas  ed:  good  in  summer  but  execrable  in 
winter. 

The  first  bridge  built  in  the  county  was 
across  Lamotte  Creek  at  or  near  Palestine, 
and  was  rather  a  rude  affair.  We  find  in  the 
early  court  proceedings  an  order  allowing  a 
small  sum  for  the  use  of  a  "whip  saw,"  for 
sawing  lumber  for  this  bridge.  As  the  people 
grew  well-to-do,  and  increased  in  worldly 
goods,  they  devoted  more  attention  to  inter- 
nal improvements,  by  building  roads  and 
bridges  wherever  required,  until  to-day  we 
find  the  county  well  supplied  with  these 
marks  of  civilization. 

Jtailroads. — But  the  grand  system  of  in- 
ternal improvements  are  the  railroads.  They 
surpass  all  others,  and  affect,  more  or  less, 
every  occupation  of  interest.  Agriculture, 
manufactures,  commerce,  city  and  country 
life,  banking,  finance,  law,  and  even  govern- 
ment itself,  have  all  felt  their  influence.  But 
especially  has  it  contributed  to  the  material 
organization  for  the  diffusion  of  culture 
among  the  people,  thus  preparing  the   condi- 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


67 


tioiis  for  a  new  step  in  social  proirress. 
Wholly  unknown  three  fourths  of  a  century 
ago,  the  railroad  has  become  tlie  greatest 
single  factor  in  the  development  of  the  ma- 
terial progress,  not  only  of  the  United  States 
and  of  the  other  civilized  nations  of  the 
earth,  but  its  blessings  are  being  rapidly  ex- 
tended into  the  hitherto  semi-civilized  and 
barb.irous  portions  of  the  globe. 

The  earliest  attempts  at  railroad  building 
in  the  West  originated  in  the  desire  to  ennch 
that  vast  domain  by  the  system  of  internal 
improvements.  This  fever  of  speculation 
broke  out  in  several  parts  of  the  United 
States  about  the  year  1835.  It  appeared  in 
Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Illinois 
nearly  at  the  same  time,  and,  when  past,  left 
an  enormous  debt  on  each.  In  Illinois,  it 
amounted  to  nearly  fifteen  millions,  while  in 
Pennsylvania  it  was  more  than  double  that 
amount,  and  in  Ohio  and  Indiana  it  was  near- 
ly equal  to  Illinois.  Examination  of  the 
legislative  acts  of  the  Prairie  State  at  that 
period,  discloses  an  almost  unbroken  line  of 
acts  for  the  construction  of  some  highway, 
which  was  destined  only  to  partially  see  the 
light  of  day  in  detached  parcels,  some  of 
which  still  remain  as  silent  monuments  of  a 
supreme  legislative  and  popular  folly.  When 
the  collapse  came,  in  1837,  and  work  on  all 
was  entirely  suspended,  only  the  old  North- 
ern-Cross Railroad — now  a  part  of  the  Wa- 
bash, St.  Louis  &  Pacific — was  found  in  a 
condition  fit  to  warrant  completion,  and  that 
only  for  a  short  distance.  It  was  originally 
intended  to  extend  from  Meredosia  through 
Jacksonville,  Sijringfield,  Decatur  and  13an- 
ville  to  the  eastern  line  of  the  State,  where  it 
was  expected  it  would  be  joined  to  some  road 
in  Indiana  and  be  continued  eastward.  A 
vast  quantity  of  flat  bar  rails  had  been  pur- 
chased in  England  by  the  agents  of  the  State, 
at  an  enormous  expense,  too;  and  quite  a 
quantity  had  been  brought  to  Meredosia,  pre- 


paratory to  being  laid  on  the  track.  In  the 
s[iring  of  1838,  some  eight  miles  of  this  old 
track  were  laid,  and  on  the  8th  day  of  No- 
vember of  that  vear,  a  small  locomotive,  the 
"  Rogers,"  made  in  England  and  shipped 
here  in  pieces — "knocked  down,"  as  we 
would  say  at  the  present  day — was  put  to- 
gether and  made  atrial  trip  on  the  road.  It  was 
the  first  locomotive  that  ever  turned  a  wheel 
in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  and  on  the  day  of 
this  trial  trip,  carried  George  W.  Plant  as 
engineer;  Murray  McConnell,  one  of  the 
Commissioners  of  Public  Works;  Gov.  Dun- 
can, James  Dunlap  and  Thomas  T.  January, 
contractors;  Charles  Collins  and  Myron  Les- 
lie, of  St.  Louis. 

The  most  imposing  ceremonies  character- 
ized the  laying  of  the  first  rail  on  this  road 
May  9,  1837;  and  on  through  the  summer, 
the  work  proo;ressed  slowly  until  when,  as  al- 
ready stated,  the  locomotive  made  the  pioneer 
trial  trip  in  the  Valley  of  the  Great  West. 
Only  twelve  years  before  had  the  first  rail- 
road train  made  a  trip  in  th«*new  continent; 
and  only  a  }-ear  or  two  before  this,  had  the 
first  application  of  steam  been  successfully 
made  in  this  manner  in  England.  The  first 
practical  locomotive  was  probably  invented 
by  a  Frenchman,  Joseph  Cugnot,  of  Void, 
Lorraine,  France.  He  made  a  three-wheeled 
road-wagon  in  1770,  which  was  used  with 
some  success  in  experimenting;  but  owing  to 
the  French  Revolution  breaking  out  soon 
alter,  the  machine  was  abandoned,  and  is  now 
in  the  museum  at  Metiers.  One  of  the  first 
locomotives  built  for  use  in  America  was 
made  for  Oliver  Evans,  who,  owing  to  the  in- 
credulity existing  at  that  day,  could  not  get 
the  necessary  permits  required  by  the  State 
Legislature  to  erect  one  here,  and  sent  to 
London,  where,  in  1801,  a  high-pressure  lo- 
comotive was  built  for  him.  It  was  not,  how- 
ever, until  1830  that  one  was  built  in  the 
United  States.    That  year  Peter  Cooper,  then 


68 


HT.STORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


an  enterprising  mechanic  and  builder,  con- 
structed an  excellent  one  for  the  day,  with 
which,  on  the  38th  of  August  of  that  year, 
he  made  a  public  trial,  running  it  from  Balti- 
more to  Ellicott's  Mills,  twenty-six  miles,  at 
an  average  speed  of  twelve  miles  per  hour. 
From  that  date  the  erection  of  American  lo- 
comotives became  a  reality.  Now  they  are 
the  best  in  the  world. 

The  first  railway  ever  built,  was  a  simple 
tramway  of  wooden  rails,  used  in  the  collier- 
ies in  the  North  of  England.  It  is  difficult 
to  determine  whon  they  began  to  be  used — 
probably  early  in  the  seventeenth  century. 
The  covering  of  the  wooden  rail  with  iron  was 
only  a  question  of  time,  to  be,  in  its  turn,  dis- 
placed by  a  cast-iron  rail;  that,  by  a  malleable 
one,  which,  in  turn,  gave  way  to  the  present 
steel  rail. 

AVhen  the  use  of  steam  applied  to  road 
wagons  came  to  be  agitated,  one  of  the  first 
uses  it  was  put  to  was  the  hauling  the  cars  to 
and  from  the  coal  mines.  By  and  by,  pas- 
sengers began  to  ride  on  them;  then  cars  for 
their  use  were  made;  then  roads  were  built 
between  important  commercial  points,  and 
with  the  improvement  of  the  locomotive,  and 
increase  of  speed,  the  railway  carriage  came 
to  be  a  palace,  and  the  management,  construc- 
tion and  care  of  railroads  one  of  the  most  stu- 
pendous enterprises  of  the  age. 

The  first  tramway,  or  railway,  in  America 
was  built  from  Quincy,  Mass.,  to  the  granite 
quarries,  three  miles  distant.  The  first  rail- 
vvay,  built  in  America,  on  which  "steam- 
cars"  were  used,  was  the  Mohawk  &  Hudson 
Road,  completed  in  1831.  On  the  9th  day  of 
August  of  that  year,  the  pioneer  passenojer 
train  of  America  was  hauled  over  this  road, 
drawn  by  the  third  American  locomotive, 
John  B.  Jervis,  engineer.  The  train  con- 
sisted of  three  old-fashioned  coaches,  fastened 
together  by  chains,  which,  in  the  sudden 
starting    and    stopping,     severely    jolted    the 


passengers — so  much  so,  that  fence  rails  were 
placed  tightly  between  the  cars,  thus  keeping 
the  chains  taut.  From  the  rugged  Eastern 
States,  the  transition  to  the  level  prairies  of 
the  West  was  an  easy  matter,  culminating  in 
the  eflForts  already  described. 

When  the  great  collapse  of  the  internal  im- 
profement  system  came,  leaving  only  one 
small  road  of  a  few  miles  in  length,  so  far 
completed  as  to  warrant  work  to  be  continued 
on  it,  the  shock  was  so  great  that  it  was 
twelve  years  before  another  was  begun  and 
put  in  working  order.  In  February,  1850,  the 
Chicago  &  Elgin  (now  the  Chicago  &  North- 
western) Railroad  was  completed  to  Elgin, 
and  a  train  of  cars  run  from  one  city  to  the 
other.  From  that  date,  until  now,  the  march 
of  progress  in  railroad  development  has  been 
uninterrupted  and  constant. 

During  the  speculative  fever  that  raged 
throughout  the  Western  States,  and  the  extrav- 
agant legislation  on  internal  improvements, 
several  railroad  enterprises  were  inaugurated, 
then  abandoned,  but  with  returning  prosperity 
and  confidence  taken  up  again  and  roads 
finally  constructed.  The  route  from  Terre 
Haute  to  Alton  is  one,  whose  earliest  incep- 
tion may  be  traced  back  to  1835,  and  the  old 
Wabash  Valley  Railroad  (which  was  never 
built)  is  another.  It  was  not  until  about 
1849-50,  that  the  country  became  aroused 
from  its  lethargic  condition,  and  began  to 
open  its  eyes  to  a  dawning  prosperity.  By 
that  time  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  had 
reached  the  eastern  line  of  the  State,  and 
asked  permission  to  cross  to  St.  Louis,  its  con- 
templated western  terminus;  but  it  here  met 
with  a  check  that  took  it  years  to  overcome. 
A  "  State  Policy  "  party  sprung  up,  denying 
the  right  of  any  foreign  corporation  to  cross 
the  State,  especially  when  the  effect  be  to  en- 
rich the  neighboring  City  of  St.  Louis,  a  city 
Alton  was  vainly  endeavoring  to  outstrip  in 
the   march   of  progress,  and   which   she  then 


HISTORY  OF  CliAWFOKD  COUNTY. 


69 


confidently  expected  to  do.  This  "  State 
Policy  "  party  held  several  rousing  meetings 
in  the  furtherance  of  their  scheme — a  scheme 
delusive  in  its  effects  upon  the  State  at  large, 
and  confined  mainly  to  the  Alton  interest. 
Counter-influences  were  aroused,  however,  and 
an  antagonistic  parts^,  much  inferior  at  first, 
began  to  appear.  The  culmination  came  when 
the  Terre  Haute,  Vandalia  &  St.  Louis  Road 
asked  for  a  charter.  The  Baltimore  &  Ohio 
Road  had  succeeded  in  their  endeavor  to  build 
their  track  across  the  State,  a  right  mainly 
brought  about  by  the  press  outside  of  the 
State.  It  had,  with  one  voice,  denounced  the 
""  policy  "  as  narrow,  selfish,  mean,  contempt- 
ible and  invidious.  It  was  sustained  by  the 
press  in  the  northern  part  of  Illinois,  and  hid 
already  begun  to  open  the  eyes  of  many  influ- 
ential persons  belonging  to  the  Policy  party. 
When  the  Vandalia  Road  asked  for  its  char- 
ter the  Policy  party  exerted  themselves  to 
the  utmost  to  defeat  it,  and  for  a  time  pre- 
vailed. "While  these  affairs  were  agitating 
the  State,  Congress  had  passed  the  act  grant- 
ing a  magnificent  domain  of  land  to  the  Illi- 
nois Central  Railroad.  The  United  States 
Senators  from  Illinois  wrote  letters  to  many 
influential  men  at  home,  urging  upon  them 
the  necessity  of  being  more  liberal  in  their 
acts  to  foreign  corporations,  and  not  attempt 
to  arrogate  to  the  State,  a  right  she  could  not 
expect  to  possess.  They  further  urged  that  the 
donation  from  the  general  government  could 
not  have  been  secured  had  not  they  pledged 
their  earnest  effort  to  wipe  out  this  disgrace- 
ful policy.  These  influences  had  their  effect. 
The  "Brough"  road,  so-called  from  its  prin- 
cipal projector,  afterward  Governor  of  Ohio, 
gained  a  charter  and  was  enabled  to  begin 
work  on  its  proposed  Vandalia  line.  In  the 
meanwhile  influences  were  working  to  build 
anew  the  projected  roads  of  the  improvement 
period.     But  to  the  roads  of  this  county. 


Southern  Illinois  was  far  behind  the  central 
and  northern  portions  of  the  State  in  railroad 
progress,  and  it  is  but  recently  that  Crawford 
County  could  boast  of  a  railroad,  though 
efforts  were  made  for  one  many  years  ago. 
Among  the  railroad  projects  which  have 
agitated  this  section  of  the  country,  and  in 
which  the  people  of  the  county  have  taken 
more  or  less  interest,  may  be  mentioned  the 
following:  "  The  Wahiish  Valley  Railroad," 
"  St.  Louis  &  Cincinnati,"  "  Terre  Haute  & 
Southwestern,"  "Chicago,  Danville  &  Vincen- 
nes,"  "  Tuscola  &  Vincennes,"  "  Paris  &  Dan- 
ville," "  East  &  West  Narrow  Gauge,"  "  Indi- 
ana &  Illinois  Commercial,"  "  Pana  &  Vin- 
cennes," "  Cincinnati  &  St.  Louis  Straight 
Line,"  etc.,  etc.  Of  these  the  Paris  &  Dan- 
ville, novp  a  division  of  the  Wabash,  and  the 
East  &  West  Narrow  Gauge  Road,  are  all 
that  have  been  carried  to  completion. 

The  building  of  the  Paris  &  Danville, 
grew  out  of  the  old  project  of  the  Wabash 
Valley  Railroad.  The  latter  was  agitated  as 
far  back  as  1850-52,  and  its  origin,  doubtless, 
might  be  traced  still  farther  back — to  the  pe- 
riod of  the  Internal  Improvement  fever.  The 
project  was  well  conceived,  and  had  it  been 
carried  out  at  that  day,  it  would  have  proved 
a  formidable  rival  to  the  Illinois  Central.  It 
was  intended  to  extend  from  Chicago  to  Vin- 
cennes, and  ultimately  to  the  Ohio  River, 
thus  connecting  the  commerce  of  that  great 
water  highway,  with  the  lakes  of  the  north. 
A  company  was  formed,  under  the  title  of  the 
"Wabash  Valley  Railroad  Company,"  and 
work  commenced,  and  prosecuted  with  more 
or  less  activity,  for  several  years.  Much  of 
the  grading  was  done  in  this  county,  as  may 
still  be  seen  between  Huisonville  and  Pales- 
tine, which  was  the  settled  route  of  the  road. 
But  the  hard  times,  an  insufficiency  of  capital, 
the  general  indifference  manifested  toward  it 
in   portions  of  the  country  through  which  it 


70 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


p.issod,  and  dowiu-ig-lit  opposition  in  otlicrs, 
had  their  effect,  and  the  project  was  finally 
abandoned. 

After  the  close  of  the  war,  the  enterprise 
of  a  road  from  Chicago  to  the  Wabash  Valley 
was  again  agitated  under  the  title  of  "Chicago, 
Danville  &  Vinccnnes  Railroad."  As  such  it 
was  chartered  February  16,  180.5,  and  the 
main  line  put  in  operation  in  1872.  After 
numerous  changes  it  hocame  the  Chicago  & 
Eastern  Illinois,  and  with  leased  lines  extends 
from  Chicago  via  Danville,  through  Indiana 
to  Evansville.  March  3,  18G9.  the  Paris  & 
Danville  Railroad  Company  was  organized, 
to  extend  the  Chicago,  Danville  &  Vincennes 
on  south  through  Illinois  instead  of  through 
Indiana,  as  then  seemed  the  intention  of  the 
latter  company.  The  road  was  ]iut  in  opera- 
tion from  Danville  to  Paris  in  September, 
1873,  aljout  the  time  the  Chicago,  Danville  & 
Vinccnnes  was  finished,  but  was  not  com- 
pleted to  Robinson  until  in  August,  187.3. 
During  the  same  fall  it  was  finished  to  Law- 
renceville,  on  the  Ohio  &  Mississippi,  and 
connection  made  with  that  road,  and  arrange- 
ments effected,  by  which  the  P.  &  D.  trains 
commenced  running  into  Vincennes  in  May, 
1876,  over  the  O.  &  M.  tracks.  This  was  the 
first  railroad  (out  of  all  the  railroad  projects 
agitated  from  time  to  time)  completed 
through  Crawford  County. 

The  Paris  &  Danville  was  built  on  the  old 
grade  of  the  Wabash  Valley  Railroad  in  this 
county,  until  after  leaving  Hutsonville,  when 
it  diverged  to  the  west  in  order  to  tap  Rob- 
inson. It  proved  of  considerable  advantage 
to  the  county,  and  to  the  country  generally, 
through  which  it  passed — although  from  its 
very  completion  it  has  been  but  poorly  man- 
aged. There  is  no  just  reason  why  it  should 
not  be  a  valuable  and  profitable  road,  if  kept 
in  good  condition.  In  August,  1875,  a  re- 
ceiver was  appointed,  and  the  road  operated 
by  him  until  June  30,  1879.     The  purchasers 


then  operated  it  fcjr  a  few  months,  when,  on 
the  8th  of  Octol)fr  following,  a  new  company, 
under  the  title  of  "•  Danville  &  Southwestern," 
was  formed,  and  took  possession  of  the  prop- 
el ty.  This  company  bought,  or  leased  the 
Cairo  &  Vincennes  Railroad,  built  a  link  from 
Lawrenceville  to  St.  Francisville  on  the  latter 
road,  thus  making  a  complete  and  direct  line 
from  Danville  to  Cairo.  In  September,  1881, 
it  was  consolidated  with  the  Wabash,  St. 
Louis  &  Pacific  Railway,  and  has  since  been 
operated  as  a  division  of  the  Wabash  system. 

The  Danville  &  Southwestern,  or,  as  now 
known,  Wabash,  St.  Louis  &  Pacific,  passes 
through  as  fine  a  section  of  country  as  may 
be  found  in  the  State.  Together  with  the 
Chicago  &  Eastern  Illinois,  with  which  it 
connects  at  Danville,  it  forms  an  unbroken 
line  from  Cairo  to  Cliicago,  that  is  said  to  be 
eleven  miles  shorter  than  by  the  Illinois  (Cen- 
tral. But  the  dilapidated  and  even  danger- 
ous condition  in  whicli  the  road  is  allowed  to 
remain,  and  the  arbitrary  manner  in  which  it 
is  managed,  is  a  reproach  to  the  Wabash 
company,  and  a  disgrace  to  the  country 
through  which  it  extends.  The  Railroad 
Commissioners,  and  the  people  who  must 
necessarily  patronize  it,  and  who  aided  in 
building  it,  should  take  the  matter  into  their 
own  hands,  and  compel  its  improvement,  or 
stop  its  operation. 

An  east  and  west  railroad  through  this 
county  is  an  old  project,  and  one  agitated 
years  ago.  A  company  was  organized  in 
1869  at  Sullivan,  Ind.,  as  the  "Indiana  &  Illi- 
nois Commercial  Railroad  Company,"  for 
the  purpose  of  building  a  railroad  from 
Worthington,  Ind.,  to  Vandalia,  111.  In  No- 
vember, 1809,  a  vote  was  taken  in  Crawford 
County,  to  donate  )S100,000  to  this  road,  and 
carried  by  430  majority  in  favor  of  the  dona- 
tion. Tho  company  was  reorganized,  or, 
rather,  a  new  one  formed,  which  was  entitled 
the  "  St.  Louis  &   Cincinnati   Railroad  Com- 


HISTORY   OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


71 


psny,"  and  the  vote  of  the  county  again 
taken  upon  the  proposed  donation  of 
$100,000,  and  again  carried  by  a  good  ma- 
jority. At  the  same  time  the  townships  of 
Oblong,  Robinson  and  I>amotte,  voted  an  ad- 
ditional donation  of  $20,000  each.  The  agi- 
tation of  the  project  was  kept  up  for  several 
vears,  and  considerable  interest  manifested 
by  the  leading  citizens  of  the  county,  and  a 
strong  belief  prevailed  that  it  would  be  built 
at  no  distant  day.  The  enterprise,  however, 
smouldered  for  awhile,  and  about  1875-6  it  was 
revived,  and  the  idea  entertained  of  building  a 
narrow  gauge  railroad  upon  the  contemplated 
line.  The  project  of  building  a  narrow 
gauge  road  from  Terre  Haute  to  Cincinnati 
was  receiving  considerable  attention,  a  matter 
that  seemed  favorable  to  the  building  the 
east  and  west  road  through  this  county  upon 
the  same  gauge  to  connect  with  the  former 
road  somewhere  east  of  the  Wabash  River. 

Upon  the  subject  of  narrow  gauge  rail- 
roads in  place  of  our  present  system,  a  late 
writer  says:  "As  fast  as  the  different  lines 
wear  out  and  need  rebuilding,  the  narrow 
three  foot  g:aua:e  is  claimino;  a  large  share  of 
the  attention  of  railroad  men  and  capitalists; 
and  it  seems  not  improbable  that  the  argu- 
ments in  favor  of  a  complete  reorganization 
of  our  railroad  traffic,  will  become  so  strong 
in  a  few  years  as  to  make  the  three  foot 
gauge  as  prevalent  in  this  country  as  the  old 
four  foot  ten  inches  has  been  and  is  now. 
The  first  argument  consists  in  the  economy 
of  construction — the  narrow  gauge  costing 
but  little,  if  any,  over  50  per  cent,  per  mile 
upon  the  cost  of  present  roads.  The  grad- 
ing and  embanking  require  vastly  less  labor, 
while  for  ties,  iron,  spikes,  etc.,  there  is  a  cor- 
responding reduction.  Another  point  in  their 
favor  is  the  facility  and  cheapness  with  which 
the  narrow  gauge  cars  can  be  run  after  being 
built.         ****** 

"  Gen.  Rosecrans,  an  eminent  engineer,  in 


a  letter  published  a  few  years  ago,  which  at- 
tracted much  attention  among  railroad  men, 
showed  from  official  records  that  the  cost  of 
the  railroads  of  the  country  up  to  the  close  of 
the  year  1867  (39,244  miles),  amounted  to 
$1,600,000,000.  The  narrow  gauge  would 
have  been  built  from  30  to  50  per  cent, 
cheaper,  while  the  cost  of  transporting  thereon 
would  have  been  reduced  at  about  the  same 
rate.  When  we  compute  the  money  that 
might  have  been  saved  in  the  original  con- 
struction, and  also  the  annual  saving  accru- 
ing from  decreased  expenditures  under  the 
narrow  gauge  system,  we  find  ourselves  in  pos- 
session of  an  aggregate  amounting  to  nearly 
one  half  of  the  national  debt.  But  the  amount 
to  be  saved  when  the  railroad  system  of  the 
country  in  the  future  becomes  well-nigh  de- 
veloped by  the  narrow  gauge,  supposing  the 
fi<rures  ffiven  to  be  accurate  and  reliable,  are 
prodigious."  A  work  published  a  few  years 
ago  shows  that,  should  the  States  composing 
the  present  Union  come  to  have  railway 
mileage  "  averaging  what  Ohio  already  has," 
it  would  give  us  165,800  miles.  The  result 
then  of  the  new  system  is  something  worth 
considering.  It  requires  but  little  mathe- 
matical genius  to  calculate  the  sum  to  be 
thus  saved  in  railroad  construction  and  man-, 
agement. 

The  east  and  west  road,  after  many  ups 
and  downs,  was  built  through  the  county  as 
the  Springfield,  Effingham  and  Southeastern 
narrow  gauge  railroad,  and  trains  put  on  it 
in  the  summer  of  1880.  A  bridge  was  built 
across  the  Wabash  River,  and  the  trains  began 
running  through  from  Effingham  to  Swissi 
City  in  December  following,  the  road  doingi 
an  excellent  business.  But  the  bridge  was 
washed  away  in  January,  1882,  and  has  not 
yet  been  rebuilt.  Everything  now  must  be 
transferred  at  the  river  by  boat  to  the  Indi- 
ana division,  thus  causing  great  inconven- 
ience, and  losing  to  the  road  much  freight  andl 


HISTORY  OF  CU.VWFOHD  COUNTY. 


business  that  it  would  otherwise  receive. 
All  things  considered,  the  little  narrow 
gau^e  is  a  better  road,  is  in  better  condition, 
and  much  safer  to  the  traveling  public  than 
the  Wabash,  which,  after  all,  is  saying  but 
little  to  the  credit  of  the  narrow  gauge. 

The  Terre  Haute  &  Southwestern  Railroad 
was  ail  enterprise  that  at  one  time  excited 
considerable  interest  in  this  county.  It  was 
to  start  from  Terre  Haute,  cross  the  Waljash 
somewhere  between  Darwin  and  York,  and 
thence  in  a  southwesterly  direction,  via  01- 
ney  or  Flora,  tap  the  Mississippi  River  at  a 
convenient  place,  and  so  on  to  a  southwestern 
terminus.     This  route   would  open  up  a  re- 


gion then  having  but  few  railroads,  a  region 
rich  in  mineral  wealth,  as  well  as  in  agricult- 
ural resources.  Lines  were  surveyed,  work 
was  commenced  and  some  grading  done  in 
places.  Much  of  the  timber  for  the  bridge 
over  the  Wabash  was  gotten  oat  and  col- 
lected at  the  place  of  crossing,  and  every- 
thing seemed  to  indicate  the  building  of  the 
road.  But  amid  the  great  number  of  railroad 
projects  of  the  country,  it  was  lost  or  swal- 
lowed up,  and  now  it  is,  we  believe,  wholly 
abandoned.  The  same  fate  has  overtaken  a 
number  of  other  railroads  which,  had  they 
all  been  completed,  would  have  made  Craw- 
ford County  a  perfect  network  of   iron   rails. 


CHAPTER    YIL* 

THE  "RAGING"  WABASH— IMPROVEMENT  OF  ITS  NAVIGATION— BOATING  IN  THE  EARLY 
TIMES— OVERFLOWS,  LEVEES,  ETC.— DAMAGE  DONE  TO  THE  FARMERS— AGRI- 
CULTURE-EARLY  MODE  OF  OPENING  AND  CULTIVATING  FARMS- 
PIONEER  PLOWS  AND  HOES— CRAWFORD  COUNTY  AGRI- 
CULTURAL SOCIETY— INCORPORATION  AND  LIST 
OP  OFFICERS— HORTICULTURE— THE 
COUNTY  POOR,  ETC.,  ETC. 


THE  improvement  of  the  Wabash  River 
is  a  question  that  has  long  agitated  the 
country  contiguous  thereto.  The  navigation 
of  tins  stream  in  the  early  settlement  of  Craw- 
ford Coun  ty  was  a  matter  in  which  the  people 
then  were  much  interested,  as  they  relied 
chiefly  upon  it  to  reach  the  best  markets  for 
the  disposal  of  their  surplus  products.  Fifty 
years  ago  boating  on  the  Wabash  vras  no  in- 
considerable business.  Flat  boats  loaded 
witii  grain,  pork,  hoop-poles,  staves,  etc.,  etc., 
were  taken  out  of  the  Wabash  every  season 
by  scores,  thence  down  the  Ohio  and  Missis- 
sippi to  New  Orleans,  which  was  then  the 
best  and  most  liberal  market  this  country 
could  reach.  Many  steamboats  used  to  come 
up  the  Wabash,  some  of  large  tonnage,  in 
high  water,  and  load  with  grain  and  pork  for 
the  Cincinnati,  Louisville  and  New  Orleans 
trade. 

Many  efforts  have  been  made  to  improve 
the  Wabash  so  as  to  make  it  a  permanent,  re- 
liable and  durable  water  highway,  and  the 
question  has  been  agitated  in  Congress  from 
time  immemorial  almost.  It  was  the  opinion 
of  many  wise  men  (who  were  interested  in 
its  improvement),  that  with  but  little  work  and 
expense  it  might  be  made  one  of  the  best  and 

*  By  W.  H.  Perrm. 


most  profitable  water  routes  in  the  whole 
country,  while  others,  with  an  equal  amount 
of  wisdom  perhaps,  but  less  pecuniary  inter- 
est, did  not  think  much  of  it  as  a  water 
highway.  Of  the  latter  class,  was  Dr.  J.  W. 
Foster,  who,  in  a  letter  to  the  New  York 
Tribune^  gave  his  opinion  as  follows: 

"  With  regard  to  the  importance  of  tlie  Wa- 
bash River  as  a  great  artery  of  trade,  I  am 
not  profoundly  impressed.  This  stream,  like 
Ohio,  each  year  its  sources  are  cleared  up 
and  its  swamps  drained,  appears  to  flow  with 
diminished  volume.  A  survey  with  reference 
to  the  improvement  of  its  navigation  has  just 
been  completed  under  direction  of  the  United 
States  Topographical  Bureau,  and  the  plan 
contemplated  is  to  remove  the  snags  and 
sawyers,  and  e.xcavate  channels  through  the 
sand-bars.  This  plan,  while  it  might  remove 
many  impediments,  would  not  increase,  but 
rather  diminish,  the  average  of  water,  by  per- 
mitting to  flow  more  freely,  and  wlien  com- 
pleted would  only  admit  of  the  navigation  of 
the  river  for  a  limited  portion  of  the  j'ear  by 
steamers  of  small  capacity.  To  slack-water 
the  river  would  be  impracticable,  for  the  in- 
tervals borderint^  the  stream  are  broad,  and 
lar^e  tracts  of  rich  land,  now  cultivated, 
would  be  inundated  and  renih^red  valueless. 
The  only  feasible  method  to  render  the  Wa- 


74 


HISTORY   OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


bash  thoroughly  navigable,  is  to  start  at  the 
head  of  Lake  Michigan,  say  at  Michigan 
City,  and  cut  a  canal,  at  least  100  feet  broad 
on  the  bottom,  to  the  northernmost  bend  of 
the  Wabash,  and  us"^  a  jDortion  of  the  water 
of  that  great  reservoir  to  keep  the  river  in  a 
boatable  condition,  except  when  closed  by 
ice.  By  this  means  water  communication  far 
cheaper  than  any  land  conveyance,  might  be 
maintained  throughout  the  entire  length  of 
the  State  of  Indiana  and  a  good  portion  of 
Illinois,  thus  uniting  the  commerce  of  the 
Ohio  and  Mississippi  Rivers  with  the  Great 
Lakes." 

The  foregoing  is  perhaps  the  most  practica- 
ble view  to  be  taken  of  the  Wabash  River 
improvement,  and  no  doubt  something  like 
that  sooner  or  later  will  be  done.  The  time 
is  not  very  far  distant,  when  water  highways 
will  receive  more  attention  than  they  do  now; 
when  they  will  be  used  by  the  people  in  self- 
defense,  that  is,  in  competing  with  great  rail- 
road monopolies.  The  subject  of  canals,  as 
affording  cheaper  transportation  for  heavy 
freights  than  railroads,  is  now  being  strono-ly 
agitated  in  many  portions  of  the  country,  and 
we  believe  it  a  question  of  but  a  few  years, 
when  the  building  of  canals,  especially  in  the 
West,  will  become  a  reality. 

Boating  on  the  Wabash,  as  we  have  said, 
was  a  big  business  years  ago.  Some  of  our 
readers,  whose  memory  extends  back  to  the 
river  period,  will  doubtless  remember,  and 
will  be  interested  in  knowing  the  time  and 
occasion  of  the  following  wrecks  on  the  Wa- 
bash: In  183(3  the  steamer  Concord,  which 
plied  between  Cincinnati  and  Lafayette,  Ind., 
was  wrecked  four  miles  below  Clinton  going 
up.  The  Highlander  sunk  two  miles  below 
Montezuma  in  1849;  the  Kentucky,  a  fine 
bo:it.  Wis  wrecked  in  1838  at  York  cut-ofF 
The  Visitor  collided  with  the  Hiram  Powers 
in  1849  at  Old  Terre  Haute.  The  Confidence 
struck  a  snag  in  Hackberry  bend  and  floated 


down  two  miles  where  she  sunk,  many  years 
ago.  "  In  those  days,"  said  an  old  river  man 
to  us,  in  speaking  of  the  river  business,  "  the 
Wabash  was  an  important  stream.  Laro-e 
vessels  constantly  plowed  her  waters  and 
an  immense  trade  was  done."  It  was  the 
only  way  the  early  settlers  had  of  getting  to 
market,  except  by  wagons  and  teams.  As 
the  country  settled,  and  towns  sprung  up, 
teaming  to  St.  Louis  and  Chicago,  relieved 
the  river  of  much  freight  which  had  formerly 
reached  market  through  that  source  alone, 
and  in  later  years  the  railroads  have  almost 
entirely  absorbed  the  river  business. 

It  would  be  of  almost  unto:d  value  to  the 
country  bordering  the  Wabash  River,  if  some 
plan  could  be  invented,  or  some  means 
adopted,  to  secure  the  lowlands  from  inunda- 
tion. Its  periodical  overflows  annually  de- 
stroy hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  worth 
of  property,  often  sweeping  away  in  a  few 
short  hours  a  whole  year's  labor  of  the  farm- 
er. When  the  Wabash  gets  on  the  rampage, 
it  can  cover  more  ground  than  any  other  river 
of  its  size  in  the  world  perhaps,  and  carry 
away  wheat  shocks  and  stacks,  and  overflow 
cornfiel  Is  by  wholesale.  In  the  summer  of 
IS? J,  and  again  in  1876,  it  overflowed  all  the 
low  country  bordering  it,  and  the  damage  to 
farmers  in  Crawford  County  alone  aggregated 
many  thousand  dollars.  Some  farmers  were 
almost  totally  ruined  financially,  while  all 
who  owned  and  cultivated  farms  in  the  bot- 
toms sustained  more  or  less  loss. 

A  system  of  leveeing  its  banks  was  under- 
taken a  few  years  ago,  but  has  never  been  of 
much,  if  any,  benefit  to  the  farmers  of  the 
county.  Under  a  law  of  the  Stato,  Commis- 
sioners were  appointed  to  manage  the  work. 
They  issued  bonds  and  taxed  people  accord- 
ing to  the  amount  of  benefit  they  would 
probably  receive  from  the  levee.  Much  of 
the  work  was  done,  and  the  contractors  were 
paid  in  bonds,  which  they  afterward  sold,  or 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


75 


entleavoic'd  to  sell,  as  best  thtn'  cnuid.  The 
levee  was  never  completed,  a  fact  which  ren- 
dered that  portion  built,  valueless.  Squab- 
bles and  differences  arose  among  those  inter- 
ested; law  suits  followed,  and  finally  the 
Supreme  Court  decided  that  the  levee  bonds 
were  unconstitutional.  The  matter  thus 
ended  in  a  grand  fizzle.  Some  who  invested 
in  the  bonds  sustained  considerable  loss,  and 
are  not  yet  through  swearing  at  the  enter- 
prise. Indeed,  the  subject  of  levee  bonds 
is  scarcely  a  safe  topic  of  conversation  to  this 
day  in  a  miscellaneous  crowd  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  county. 

Agriculture.- — This  science  is  the  great 
source  of  our  prosperity,  and  is  a  subject  in 
which  we  are  all  interested.  It  is  said  that 
"  gold  is  the  jiower  that  moves  the  world," 
and  it  might  truthfully  be  said  that  agricult- 
ure is  the  power  that  moves  gold.  All  thriv- 
ing interests,  all  prosperous  industries,  trades 
and  professions,  receive  their  means  of  sup- 
]3ort,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  from  the 
farming  interests  of  the  country.  Its  prog- 
ress in  Crawford  for  nearly  three  quarters  of 
a  century,  is  not  the  least  interesting  nor  the 
least  important  part  in  its  history.  The  pio- 
neers who  commenced  tilling  the  soil  here 
with  a  few  rude  implements  of  husbandry, 
laid  the  foundation  of  that  perfect  system  of 
agriculture  we  find  at  the  present  day.  They 
were  mostly  poor  and  compelled  to  labor  for 
a  support,  and  it  required  brave  hearts,  strong 
arms  and  willing  hands — just  such  as  they 
possessed — to  conquer  the  difficulties  with 
which  they  had  to  contend. 

Jolinston,  in  his  "  Chemistry  of  Common 
Life,"  gives  the  following  graphic  descrip- 
tion of  the  system  of  farming  commonly 
adopted  by  the  first  settlers  on  this  continent, 
and  which  applies  to  a  single  county  with  as 
much  force  as  to  the  country  at  large.  He 
says:  "  Man  exercises  an  influence  on  the 
Boil  which  is  worthy  of  attentive    study.     He 


lands  in  a  new  country  and  fertility  every- 
where surrounds  him.  The  herbage  waves 
thick  and  high,  and  the  massive  trees  sway 
their  proud  stems  loftily  toward  the  sky.  He 
clears  a  farm  from  the  wilderness,  and  ample 
returns  of  corn  repay  him  for  his  simple  la- 
bor. He  plows,  he  sows,  he  reaps,  and  from 
the  seemingly  exhaustless  bosom  of  the  earth 
gives  back  abundant  harvests.  But  at  length 
a  change  appears,  creeping  slowly  over  and 
gradually  dimming  the  smiling  landscape. 
The  corn  is  first  less  beautiful,  then  less  abun- 
dant, and  at  last  it  appears  to  die  altogether 
beneath  the  scourge  of  an  unknown  insect  or 
a  parasitic  fungus.  He  forsakes,  therefore, 
his  long  cultivated  farm,  and  hews  out  an- 
other from  the  native  forest.  But  tlie  same 
early  plenty  is  followed  by  the  same  vexa- 
tious disasters.  His  neighbors  partake  of  the 
same  experience.  They  advance  like  a  devour- 
ing tide  against  the  verdant  woods,  they  tram- 
ple them  beneath  their  advancing  culture; 
the  ax  levels  its  3'early  prey,  and  generation 
after  generation  proceeds  in  the  same  direc- 
tion— a  wall  of  green  forests  on  the  horizon 
before  them,  a  half-desert  and  naked  region 
behind.  Such  is  the  history  of  colonial  cult- 
ure in  our  own  epoch;  such  is  the  history  01 
the  march  of  European  cultivation  over  the 
entire  continent  of  America.  No  matter 
what  the  geological  origin  of  the  soil  may  be, 
or  what  the  chemical  composition;  no  matter 
how  warmth  and  moisture  may  favor  it,  or 
what  the  staple  crop  it  has  patiently  yielded 
from  year  to  year;  the  same  inevitable  fate, 
overtakes  it.  The  influence  of  long,  contin- 
ual human  action  overcomes  the  tendencies 
of  all  natural  causes.  But  the  influences  of 
man  upon  the  productions  of  the  soil  are  ex- 
hibited in  other  and  more  satisfactory  results. 
The  improver  takes  the  place  of  the  exhauster, 
and  follows  his  footsteps  on  these  same  al- 
tered lands.  Over  the  sandy  and  forsaken 
tracts    of    Virginia     and    the    Carolinas     he 


76 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWrORD  COUNTY. 


spreads  large  applications  of  shelly  marl,  and 
the  herbage  soon  covers  it  again,  and  profita- 
ble crops;  or  he  strews  on  it  a  thinner  sow- 
ing of  gypsum,  and  as  if  by  magic,  the  yield 
of  previous  years  is  doubled  and  quadrupled; 
or  he  gathers  the  droppings  of  his  cattle  and 
the  fermented  produce  of  his  farm-yard,  and 
lays  it  upon  his  fields,  when  lo!  the  wheat 
comes  up  luxuriantly  again,  and  the  midge, 
and  the  rust,  and  the  yellows,  all  disappear 
from  his  wheat,  his  cotton  and  his  peach  trees. 
But  the  renovater  marches  much  slower  than 
the  exhauster.  His  materials  are  collected 
at  the  expense  of  both  time  and  money,  and 
barrenness  ensues  from  the  early  labors  of  the 
one  far  more  rapidly  than  green  herbage  can 
be  made  to  cover  it  again  by  the  most  skill- 
ful, zealous  and  assiduous  labors  of  the  other." 

There  is  a  great  deal  of  truth  in  the  above 
extract,  and  we  see  it  illustrated  in  every 
portion  of  the  country.  The  farmer,  as  long 
as  his  land  produces  at  all  plentifully,  seems 
indifferent  to  all  efforts  to  improve  its  failing 
qualities.  And  hence  the  land,  like  one  who 
nas  wasted  his  life  and  exhausted  his  ener- 
gies by  early  dissipation,  becomes  prema- 
turely old  and  worn  out.  When,  by  proper 
care  and  timely  improvement,  it  might  have 
retained  its  rich  productive  qualities  thrice 
the  period. 

The  tools  and  implements  used  by  the  pio- 
neers of  Crawford  County,  were  few  in  num- 
ber and  of  a  poor  quality,  and  would  set  the 
farmer  of  the  present  day  wild  if  he  had  to 
use  them.  The  plow  was  the  old  "  bar  share," 
with  wooden  mold-board,  and  long  beam  and 
handles.  Generally  they  were  of  a  size  be- 
tween the  one  and  two  horse  plows,  for  they 
had  to  be  used  in  both  capacities.  The  hoes 
and  axes  were  clumsy  implements,  and  were 
forged  and  finished  by  the  ordinary  black- 
smith. If  any  of  them  were  broken  beyond 
the  abilitv  of  the  smith  at  the  station  to  re- 
pair, a  new  supply  had   to  be  procured  from 


the  older  settlements.  There  was  some  com- 
pensation, however,  for  all  these  disadvan- 
tages under  which  the  pioneer  labored.  The 
virgin  soil  of  the  Wabash  Valley,  when  once 
brought  into  cultivation,  was  fruitful,  and 
yielded  the  most  bountiful  crops.  As  a  sam- 
ple of  the  corn  produced,  under  poor  prepa- 
ration and  cultivation,  we  learn  fiom  Mr. 
Leonard  Cullom  that  his  father  planted 
ninety  acres  of  sod  corn  in  1815,  the  next 
year  after  he  came  to  the  county,  from  which 
he  raised  a  large  crop,  and  shipped  a  flat  boat 
load  to  New  Orleans,  retaining  enough  at 
home  to  last  him  plentifully  until  he  could 
grow  another  crop. 

The  first  little  crop  consisted  of  a  "  patch  " 
of  corn,  potatoes,  beans  and  other  garden 
"  truck."  In  some  instances  a  small  crop  of 
tobacco  and  of  flax  were  added.  Quite  a 
number  of  the  settlers  also  raised  cotton  for 
several  years.  Indeed,  it  was  thought  in  the 
first  settlement  of  Southern  Illinois,  that  cot- 
ton would  eventually  become  the  staple  crop. 
But  the  late  springs,  and  the  early  frosts  of 
autumn  soon  dispelled  this  belief.  Cotton 
was  produced  more  or  less,  however,  for  a 
number  of  years,  and  the  people  were  loth  to 
give  up  the  attempt  to  grow  it  successfully, 
but,  in  time,  were  forced  to  yield  to  the  un- 
propitious  seasons. 

But  with  the  settlement  of  the  country, 
the  increase  of  population,  and  the  improve- 
ments in  stock,  tools  and  agricultural  imple- 
ments, the  life  of  the  farmer  gradually  be- 
came easier,  his  farming  operations  greater, 
and  agriculture  developed  and  improved  ac- 
cordinglv.  The  change  was  not  made  in  a 
year,  but  the  growth  and  development  of  the 
farming  interests  were  slow,  increasing  by 
degrees,  year  by  year,  until  it  reached  the 
grand  culmination  and  perfection  of  the 
present  day. 

Agricultural  societies,  as  an  aid  to  farming 
and  the  improvement  of  stock  were   formed, 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


77 


ami  i'aiis  were  held  to  promote  the  same  end. 
The  iirst  agricultural  association  of  Crawford 
County  was  organized  about  1856-7. 
Grounds  were  purchased  and  improved  in 
tiie  northeast  part  of  Robinson,  adjoining  the 
cemetery.  In  IbTO  these  grounds  were  sold 
for  some  $500,  and  the  present  grounds,  one 
mile  west  of  town,  were  purchased.  They 
comprise  twenty  acres,  for  which  the  society 
paid  $30  per  acre.  The  grounds  have  been 
enclosed,  good  buildings  erected,  stalls  put 
up,  trees  planted,  wells  sunk,  so  that  now 
the  society  possesses  in  them  a  very  good 
property. 

About  the  year  1871,  it  was  incorporated 
under  the  general  law  of  the  State  relating 
to  such  organizations,  as  the  Crawford  Coun- 
ty Agricultural  Board.  Since  that  period, 
the  officers  of  the  board  have  been  as  fol- 
lows: For  1872 — Hickman  Henderson,  pres- 
ident; A.  J.  Reavill,  R.  R.  Lincoln  and 
"VVm.  Updyke,  vice-presidents;  Guy  S.  Al- 
exander, recording  secretary;  Wni.  C.  Wil- 
son, corresponding  secretary,  and  Wm.  Par- 
ker, treasurer. 

Officers  for  1873 — Hickman  Henderson, 
l>resident;  A.  J.  Reavill,  R.  R.  Lincoln  and 
W'ra.  Updyke,  vice-presidents;  Guy  S.  Al- 
exander, recording  secretary;  Wm.  C.  Wil- 
son, corresponding  secretary,  and  Wm.  Par- 
ker, treasurer. 

Officers  for  1874 — James  S.  Kirk,  presi- 
dent; I.  D.  Mail,  D.  B.  Cherry  and  G.  Bar- 
low, vice-presidents;  W.  Swaren,  recording 
secretary;  W.  L.  Heustis,  assistant  secretary, 
and  Wm.  Parker,  treasurer. 

Officers  for  1875 — Wm.  Updyke,  president; 
Oliver  Newlin,  Sargent  Newlin  and  A.  .1. 
Reavill,  vice-presidents;  W.  Swaren,  re- 
cording secretary;  W.  L.  Heustis,  assistant 
secretary,  and  Wm.  Parker,  treas^urer. 

Officers  for  1876—1.  D.  .Mail,  jjresldent; 
J.  M.  Highsmith,  J.  H.  Taylor  and  T.  J.  Sims, 
vice-presidents;   W.    Swaren,    recording  sec- 


retary; W.  L.  Heustis,  assistant  secretary,  and 
Wm.  Parker,  treasurer. 

Officers  for  1877 — J.  S.  Kirk,  president; 
McClung  Cawood,  W.  A.  Hope  and  Wm. 
Athey,  vice-pesidents;  W.  Swaren,  secre- 
tary, and  Wm.  Parker,  treasurer. 

Officers  for  1878 — P.  P.  Connett,  presi- 
dent; Alva  Burner,  McClung  Cawood  and 
W.  A.  Hope,  vice-presidents;  L.  V.  Chaffee, 
secretary,  and  Wm.  Parker,  treasurer. 

Officers  for  1879— P.  P.  Connett,  president; 
Alva  Burner,  G.  Athey  and  J.  H.  Taylor,  vice- 
presidents;  W.  Swaren,  secretary,  and  Wm. 
Parker,  treasurer. 

Tiie  constitution  was  amended  at  this  time 
by  adding  a  fourth  vice-president  to  the 
board,  and  one  or  two  other  subordinate 
officers. 

Officers  for  1880 — Wm.  Updyke,  president; 
J.  M.  Highsmith,  Sing  B.  Allen,  B.  Wood 
and  J.  L.  Woodworth,  vice-piesidents;  L.  V. 
Chaffee,  secretary,  and  Wm.  Parker,  treasurer. 

Officers  for  1881 — L.  E.  Stephens,  president; 
Wm.  Athey,  Wm.  Wood,  D.  M.  Bales  and 
J.  L.  Woodworth,  vice  presidents;  L.  V. 
Chaffee,  secretary,  and  Wm.  Parker,  treasurer. 

Officers  for  18s3* — L.  E.  Stephens,  presi- 
dent; Wm.  Wood,  J.  M.  Highsmith,  Wm. 
Fife  and  Bennett  Wood,  vice-presidents; 
L.  V.  Chaffee,  secretary,  and  Wm.  Parker, 
treasurer. 

Horticulture. — Gardening,  or  horticulture 
in  its  restricted  sense,  can  not  be  regarded  ag 
a  very  prominent  or  important  feature  in  the 
history  of  Crawford  County.  If,  however, 
we  take  a  broad  view  of  the  subject,  and  in- 
clude orchards,  small  fruit  culture  and  kin- 
dred branches  outside  of  agriculture,  we 
should  find  something  of  more  interest  and 
value. 

That  the  cultivation  of  fruit   is   a  union  of 


*  No  fair  was  held  in  1881,  en  account  of  the  great 
drouth,  and  the  old  officers  held  over. 


78 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


the  useful  and  beautiful,  is  a  fact  not  to  be 
denied.  Trees  covered  in  spi-ina;  with  soft 
foliage  b;ended  with  fragrant  flowers  of 
wliite,  and  crimson,  and  gold,  that  are  suc- 
ceeded by  fruit,  blushing  with  bloom  and 
down,  rich,  molting  and  grateful,  through  all 
the  fervid  beat  of  summer,  is  indeed  a  tempt- 
ing prospect  to  every  landholder.  A  peo])le 
so  richly  endowed  by  nature  as  we  are  should 
give  more  attention  than  we  do  to  an  art  that 
supplies  so  many  of  the  amenities  of  life,  and 
around  whirh  cluster  so  many  memories  that 
appeal  to  the  finer  instincts  of  our  nature. 
With  a  soil  so  well  adapted  to  fruits,  horticult- 
ure should  be  held  in  that  high  esteem  which 
becomes  so  impoitant  a  factor  in  human 
welfare. 

The  climate  of  this  portion  of  the  State, 
antl  of  Crawford  County,  is  better  adapted  to 
fruit  culture  than  further  north,  though  as  a 
fruit-growing  region  it  is  not  to  compare 
to  some  other  portions  of  our  countrj'.  The 
same  trouble  mentioned  in  connection  with 
cotton-growing,  applies  as  well  to  general 
fruit-culture,  viz.:  the  variability  of  tempera- 
ture, being  subject  to  sudden  and  frequent 
changes,  to  extreme  cold  in  winter,  and  to  late 
and  severe  frosts  in  spring,  as  well  as  to  early 
and  killing  frosts  in  the  fall. 

The  apple  is  the  hardiest  and  most  reliable 
of  all  fruits  for  this  region,  and  there  are 
probably  more  acres  in  apple  orchards,  than 
in  all  fruits  combined,  in  the  county.  The 
first  fruit  trees  were  brought  here  by  the 
pioneers,  and  were  sprouts  taken  from  varie- 
ties around  the  old  home,  about  to  be  forsaken 
for  a  new  one,  hundreds  of  miles  away.  A 
Mr.  Howard,  who  settled  in  that  portion  of 


Crawford  County,  now  in  Lawrence,  is  suj)- 
posed  to  have  planted  the  first  apple  trees  in 
this  section,  and  to  have  brought  the  scions 
with  him  when  he  came  to  the  country.  Ap- 
ples and  peaches  are  now  raised  in  the 
county  in  considerable  quantities,  and  small 
fruits  are  receiving  more  attention  every  year 
— especially  strawberries  and  raspberries. 
Many  citizens,  too,  are  engaging  in  grape  cult- 
ure to  a  limited  extent. 

Coiinty  Paupers. — "The  poor  ye  have 
with  you  al  way."  It  is  a  duty  we  owe  to  that 
class  upon  whom  the  world  has  cast  its  frowns, 
to  care  for  them,  and  furnish  them  those  com- 
forts and  necessaries  of  life  wiiich  their  mis- 
fortunes have  denied  them.  None  of  us 
know  how  soon  we  may  become  a  member  of 
that  unfortunate  portion  of  our  population. 
"  The  greatest  of  these  is  charity,"  find  to 
what  nobler  purpose  can  superfluous  wealth 
be  devoted  than  to  succoring  the  poor,  and 
relieving  the  woes  of  suffering  humanity. 

Crawford  is  far  behind  many  of  her  sister 
counties  in  the  care  of  her  paupers.  A  large 
majority  of  the  counties  in  the  State  own 
large  farms,  with  commodious  buildings  upon 
them,  where  their  paupers  are  kept  and  kind- 
]j  cared  for.  This  county  seems  to  always 
have  "  farmed  "  out  the  poor,  as  it  were,  or,  in 
other  words,  to  have  hired  anybody  to  keep 
them  who  was  willing  to  undertake  the 
charge.  This  does  not  strike  us  as  the  bes 
method  of  exercising  charity,  nor  the  most 
economical.  Where  the  county  owns  a  good 
farm  well  improved,  the  institution,  if  proper- 
ly managed,  can  be  rendered  well-nigh  self- 
supporting.      Yerhum  sat  sajpie/Ui. 


CHAPTEE   YIII.* 


THE  COUNTY  PRESS-ITS   INFLUENCE  IN  THE    COMMUNITY— NEWSPAPER    ENTERPRISES 
OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY— THE  CONSTITUTION  AND  ARGUS— EDUCATIONAL— PI- 
ONEER SCHOOLHOUSES  AND  TEACHERS-ADVANTAGES    OF    EDUCA- 
TION—SCHOOL STATISTICS— RELIGIOUS  HISTORY— EARLY 
PREACHERS-CHURCHES  ORGANIZED,  ETC.,  ETC. 


"A  history  which  takes  no  account  of  what  was 
said  by  the  Press  in  memorable  emergencies  befits  an 
earlier  age  than  ours." — Horace  Greeley. 

THE  subjoined  sketch  of  the  Press  was  writ- 
ten for  this  work  by  George  W.  Harper, 
Esq.,  at  our  earnest  solicitation.  The  article 
is  an  excellent  one  and  we  commend  it  to  our 
readers.     It  is  as  follows: 

A  history  of  a  county  without  a  chapter  on 
the  newspaper  history,  would  be  "  like  the 
play  of  Hamlet  with  Hamlet  left  out."  There 
is  no  more  faithful  historian  of  a  community 
than  the  local  press;  and  be  it  ever  so  hum- 
ble or  unpretentious,  it. can  not  fail  in  the 
course  of  years  to  furnish  valuable  iftforma- 
tion  for  future  reference.  A  file  of  the  local 
paper  for  a  dozen  or  more  years  presents  a 
fund  of  information,  the  vali^  of  which  can 
hardly  be  estimated. 

Some  people  have  an  idea  that  newspapers 
will  lie;  others  are  so  wise  that  they  will  only 
believe  a  newsjiaper  report  when  they  think 
it  would  be  easier  for  the  paper  to  tell  the 
truth  than  to  tell  a  lie;  others  think  it  the  evi- 
dence of  flashing  wit  to  reject  with  a  deri- 
sive laugh  any  evidence  for  authority  that 
comes  from  "  the  newspapers."  To  .such  an 
extent  has  this  thoughtlosj  juilgnient  of  the 
press  been  carried,  that  much  of  its  sphere  of 
usefulness  has  been  circumscribed.      It  is  true 


By  W.  H.  Perriii. 


there  must  be  some  occasion  for  this  wide- 
spread impression — "  there  must  be  some  fire 
where  there  is  so  much  smoke."  Yet  how 
many  men  can  show  a  record  for  correctness, 
accuracy  and  truthfulness  that  will  at  once 
compare  with  the  average  newspaper?  The 
editor  gathers  his  news  from  a  thousand 
sources,  from  acquaintances  and  strangers, 
from  letters  and  papers.  He  sits  and  culls, 
hunts  and  details,  and  endeavors  to  get  "the 
straight"'  of  every  story  he  publishes,  for  it 
goes  to  the  world  over  his  own  name,  and  he 
knows  that  in  a  great  measure  he  will  be  held 
responsible.  The  private  individual  hears  a 
piece  of  gossip,  listens  carelessly  to  another 
with  equal  carelessness,  and  if  called  upon 
for  details,  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  can  not 
give  enough  of  them  to  make  an  intelligent 
item  for  a  newspaper.  "  Writing  makes  an 
exact  man,"  says  Lord  Bacon.  '  The  news- 
paper verifies  the  truth  of  the  statement. 
Let  any  one  who  doubts  this  sit  d  ixvn  and 
put  on  paper  some  piece  of  gossip,  with  the 
purpose  of  having  it  printed  over  his  own 
signature,  and  he  will  see  in  a  moment  how 
little  he  knows  about  a  matter  he  thought 
himself  familiar  with.  He  will  then  wonder 
not  that  the  newspaper  should  contain  occa- 
sional inaccuracies  and  misstatements,  but 
that  it  contains  so  few.  And  his  wonder  will 
wonderfully  increase  when  he  remembers 
that  the  editor  has  to  deoend  for    so  much  of 


so 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


■what  he  publishes  on  the  common  run  of  man- 
kind. 

An  eminent  divine  has  truly  said,  "the  lo- 
cal paper  is  not  only  a  business  guide,  but  it 
is  a  pulpit  of  morals;  it  is  a  kind  of  public 
rostrum  where  the  affairs  of  state  are  consid- 
ered; it  is  a  supervisor  of  streets  and  roads; 
it  is  a  rewarder  of  merit;  it  is  a  social  friend, 
a  promoter  of  friendship  and  good  will. 
Even  the  so-called  small  matters  of  a  village 
or  incorporate  town  are  only  small  to  those 
■whoso  hearts  are  too  full  of  personal  pom- 
posity." It  is  very  important  if  some  school 
boy  or  school  girl  reads  a  good  essay,  or 
speaks  well  a  piece,  or  sings  well  a  song,  or 
stands  high  in  the  class-room,  that  kind  men- 
tion should  be  made  publicly  of  such  suc- 
cess, for  more  young  minds  are  injured  for 
■want  of  cheering  ■words,  than  are  made  vain 
by  an  excess  of  such  praise.  In  the  local 
papers,  the  marriage  bell  tolls  more  solemnly 
than  in  the  great  city  dailies.  The  rush  and 
noise  of  the  metropolis  take  away  the  joy 
from  items  about  marriages,  and  detract  from 
the  solemnity  of  the  recorded  death;  but 
when  the  local  paper  records  a  marriage  be- 
tween two  favorites  of  society,  all  the  readers 
see  the  hapjiiness  of  the  event;  and  equally 
when  the  columns  of  such  a  home  paper  tell 
us  that  some  great  or  humble  person  has 
gone  from  the  world,  we  read  with  tears,  for 
he  was  our  neighbor  and  friend. 

The  Wabash  Sentinel. — The  pioneer  paper 
of  Crawford  County  was  the  Wabash  Senti- 
nel. It  was  established  at  Hutsonville,  in 
1852,  by  George  W.  Cutler,  a  printer  who 
came  from  Evansville,  Indiana,  bringing  his 
press  and  material  from  that  place.  The 
paper  was  independent  in  politics.  Its  pub- 
lication was  continued  by  Mr.  Cutler  some- 
thing over  a  year,  when  the  material  and 
good-will  were  transferred  to  Ethelbert  Calla- 
han, then  a  pedagogue  of  the   village,  no^w 


one  of  the  leading  attorneys  of  Southeastern 
Illinois,  and  a  prominent  Republican  poli- 
tician of  the  State.  Under  Mr.  Callahan's 
administration  the  name  of  the  paper  was 
changed  to  the  Journal.,  and  its  publication 
was  continued  for  something  over  a  year, 
when  the  material  was  sold  and  removed  to 
Marshall,  Clark  County. 

llie  Muralist. — This  was  the  next  news- 
paper venture,  and  was  established  in  Pales- 
tine, in  1856,  by  Samuel  R.  Jones,  a  native 
Virginian,  •who  had  been  brought  up  by 
Alexander  Campbell,  the  eminent  minister 
of  the  gospel  and  expounder  of  the  doctrine 
and  faith  of  the  religious  denomination 
known  as  Disciples  or  Christians.  The  Ilu- 
ralist,  like  its  predecessors,  was  independent 
in  politics.  Jones  was  rather  an  eccentric 
man,  with  numerous  professions,  combining 
those  of  a  preacher,  lawj-er  and  doctor,  with 
that  of  editor  and  publisher.  He  was  im- 
bued with  the  spirit  of  "Reform"  in  almost 
everything,  and  ■was  disposed  to  make  the 
paper  a  special  advocate  of  his  own  peculiar 
notions  and  isms.  In  December,  1S5G, 
George  W.  Harper,  a  printer  boy  of  some 
eiiihteen  years, came  from  Richmond,  Indiana, 
and  w  as  employed  by  Jones  to  take  mechan- 
ical charge  of  the  Ruralist,  and  as  he  had 
"  so  many  irons  in  the  fire,"  he  soon  virtually 
surrendered  all  charge  of  the  paper  into  Har- 
per's hands,  who  endeavored  to  make  it  more 
of  a  literary  and  local  paper  than  it  had  been 
previously.  Its  publication  was  continued 
until  October,  1857,  when  it  was  suspended, 
and  Dr.  Jones  removed  to  Wooster,  Ohio,  to 
take  pastoral  charge  of  the  Christian  church 
there.  He  remained  about  a  year,  and  just 
prior  to  the  breaking  out  of  the  late  war,  he 
removed  to  Mississippi.  After  the  close  of 
the  war  himself  and  son  published  for  a  short 
time  a  religious  paper  at  Garner,  Hinds 
County,  that  State.      He   is  now   located  at 


^^;^^/^>^lx/x-7^^/_^^_^ 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


83 


Jackson,  Miss.,  and  although  over  seventy 
years  of  age  is  still  actively  engaged  in  the 
ministry. 

The.  Crawford  Banner. — Tliis  paper  was 
stiirted  at  Hutsonville  in  July,  1857,  by  W. 
F.  Ruljottom,  who  came  from  Giayville,  this 
State,  and  was  puhlished  by  him  as  an  inde- 
])endent  paper  until  October  of  the  following 
year.  Jlr.  Rubottom  c  mmeiiced  the  prac- 
tice of  medicine  when  he  retired  from  the 
jjublication  of  the  Danner,  and  afterwerd 
went  West. 

The  Huhinson  Gazette.— The  Gazette  was 
the  first  paper  published  in  Rol)inson.  After 
the  suspension  of  the  Jiuraliat,  the  material 
was  leased  to  G.  W.  Harper,  moved  to  Rob- 
inson, and  the  first  issue  of  the  Gazette  made 
its  appearance  December  1^,  1857.  This  was 
the  first  political  paper  issued  in  the  county. 
Mr.  Plarper,  the  editor,  although  not  a  voter, 
t;iLing  strongground  in  favorol'  the  principles 
of  the  Douglas  wing  of  the  Democratic  party. 
Tiio  pu  lication  of  the  Gazette  was  continued 
by  Mr.  Harper  until  the  expiration  of  his  lease 
in  1858,  when  the  paper  was  suspended,  and  the 
material  passed  into  the  hands  of  O.  H.  Bris- 
tol &  Co.,  to  whom  it  had  been  mortgaged  by 
Dr.  Jones  to  secure  the  paj-ment  of  a  debt. 
Harper  then  purchased  the  Banner  at  Hut- 
sonville, and  removed  it  to  Palestine,  where 
he  continued  its  publication  for  a  year  as  a 
Democratic  paper.  In  July,  185  ',  while  pub- 
lishing the  Banner,  its  editor  took  the  "Wa- 
bash shakes,"  and  did  not  succeed  in  getting 
rid  of  them  until  tlie  October  following.  The 
paper  had  a  somewhat  sickly  existence  also, 
and  suspended  publication  in  November. 

The  Yellow  Jacket. — Such  was  the  "  blis- 
tering "  name  given  to  a  paper  started  at 
Palestine  in  December,  1859,  by  Dr.  A.  Ma- 
lone  and  E.  Logan,  on  the  ruins  of  the  de- 
funct Banner.  Dr.  Malone  withdrew  from 
the  paper  in  a  few  months,  and  left  Logan 
in  sole  charge,  who  continued  its  publication 


for  about  three  years.  Tlie  paper  was  Re- 
publican in  politics,  and  in  the  campaign  of 
1800  contained  sliarp  and  spicy  editorials, 
which  made  it  quite  well  known  in  this  part 
of  the  State. 

The  Crawford  County  Bulletin. — .\s  the 
Yellow  Jacket  was  the  onlv  paper  in  the 
county,  the  Democrats  were  not  well  pleased 
with  its  sharp  thrusts  and  cutting  sarcasm; 
especially  so,  Hon.  J.  C.  Allen,  the  Demo- 
cratic ntmiinee  for  Governor  of  the  State, 
then  residing  in  Palestine.  He  therefore 
purchased  the  material  at  Robinson,  and  Hor- 
ace P.  Mumford,  then  connected  with  a  pa- 
per at  Greenup,  but  recently  from  Kenton, 
Ohio,  was  placed  in  charge,  and  in  July,  1860, 
commenced  the  puljlication  of  the  Crawford 
County  Bulletin,  at  Robinson,  as  a  Demo- 
cratic paper.  Tlie  paper  was  very  ably 
edited,  and  was  during  the  campaign  a  fear- 
less and  outspoken  advocate  of  its  party 
])riiiciples.  When  the  war  broke  out  the 
editor  was  one  of  those  patriotic  men  who 
wanted  "country  first  and  parly  alterwaid," 
and  hence  took  a  decided  stand  in  favor  of 
the  prosecution  of  the  war  for  the  preservation 
of  the  Union.  He  assisted  in  recruiting: 
three  or  four  infantry  companies  in  this 
county,  and  in  September,  1861,  he  raised  a 
company  for  the  Fifth  Illinois  Cavalry,  of 
which  he  was  commissioned  captain.  He  was 
afterward  promoted  to  be  major  of  the  same 
regiment.  He  made  a  gallant  and  dashing 
cavalry  officer,  being  quite  frequently  men- 
tioned and  commended  in  reports  of  his  su- 
perior officers  for  his  bravery  and  daring  in 
battle,  skirmish  and  raid.  In  October,  1861:, 
having  been  nominated  by  the  Union  party 
of  this  Senatorial  district  for  State  Senator 
he  obtained  leave  of  absence  for  thirty  days 
from  his  regiment,  then  stationed  at  Vicks- 
burg,  and  left  for  home.  He  was  first  to  re- 
port at  Springfield.  Arriving  there  he  was 
taken  with   a   severe   spell  of  dysentery,  and 


84 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


died  in  two  or  three  days,  aged  twenty-three 
years.  The  publication  of  the  Bulletin  was 
continued  a  short  time  after  Mumford  went 
into  the  army,  by  his  brother,  W.  D.  Mum- 
ford,  and  N.  T.  Adams,  two  young  printers. 
Young  Mumford  withdrew  in  the  summer  of 
18(32,  and  left  Adams  in  charge.  After  con- 
tinuing the  publication  alone  for  a  few  weeks 
Adams  also  abandoned  tlie  paper,  and  it  was 
suspended. 

The  Monitor. — The  publication  of  the 
Yelloto  Jacket,  at  Palestine,  having  been  sus- 
pended, Mr.  Logan  now  got  hold  of  the  Bul- 
letin material  and  started  the  Monitor,  at 
Robinson,  which  had  a  rather  lively  six 
months'  existence,  when  it  "joined  the  grand 
army  gone  before."  The  Bulletin  was  again 
resurrected  by  Charles  Whaley,  a  printer 
from  Terre  Haute,  and  had  a  very  sickly  ex- 
istence of  "  half  sheets  "  and  "  doubled  ads  " 
for  some  six  months,  when  it  too  "  turned  its 
toes  to  the  daisies." 

The  Constitution. — This  paper  was  estab- 
lished in  October,  1863,  by  John  Talbot,  who 
purchased  the  Bulletin  material.  He  contin- 
ued as  editor  and  publisher  of  the  paper  for 
some  three  years,  during  which  time  the 
Constitution  was  conceded  to  be  the  ablest 
edited,  most  fearless  and  outspoken  Demo- 
cratic paper  in  this  section  of  the  State. 
While  the  course  of  Mr.  Talbot  was  severely 
criticised  by  the  opposition  press  and  party, 
he  was  conceded  to  be  honest  and  conscien- 
tious in  his  views,  and  was  a  perfect  gentle- 
man in  his  intercourse  with  all. 

Mr.  Talbot  was  born  in  Tipperarj',  Ireland, 
September  21,  1797,  and  died  in  Robinson 
September  22,  1874.  When  quite  young  he 
removed  to  Canada,  and  after  remaining  in 
that  province  several  years  he  emigrated  to 
the  United  States,  settling  in  Perry  County, 
Ohio,  where  he  engaged  in  the  hardware 
trade  at  Somerset.  While  in  business  there 
he   came   across   Phil   Sheridan,  then  a  poor 


Irish  boy,  and  took  him  into  the  store. 
Through  Mr.  Talbot's  influence  Sheridan  ob- 
tained his  appointment  to  West  Point,  and 
undoubtedly  owes  his  present  position  to  the 
kind  offices  of  Mr.  Talbot.  Having  indorsed 
rather  heavily  for  friends  who  failed  to  meet 
their  own  obligations,  the  property  of  Mr. 
Talbot,  accumulated  by  several  years  of  in- 
dustry and  toil,  was  swallowed  up  to  meet 
these  demands,  and  he  came  to  Illinois  with 
a  bare  pittance.  In  1867,  owing  to  failing 
health,  he  relinquished  control  of  the  paper 
to  his  son  Henry  Grattan  Talbot.  That  dread 
but  sure  disease,  consumption,  had  already 
marked  Henry  for  its  victim,  and  he  was  able 
to  give  to  the  office  and  paper  but  little  per- 
sonal attention,  being  soon  confined  to  his 
room.  On  the  2d  day  of  January,  1808,  he 
died,  aged  twenty-four  years.  The  senior 
Talbot  again  assumed  charge  of  the  paper, 
and  continued  as  its  editor  and  publisher  un- 
til some  two  years  prior  to  his  death,  when  he 
relinquished  its  control  to  his  son  Richard, 
the  present  senior  editor  and  publisher.  At 
his  death  the  office  was  left  by  devise  to  his 
widow.  Richard  Talbot  continued  as  editor 
and  publisher  until  the  death  of  his  mother, 
when  the  office  was  purchased  by  himself  and 
brother,  Percy  J.  Talbot.  The  two  brothers 
continued  as  joint  publishers  until  March, 
1879,  when  Richard  sold  his  half  interest  to 
Thomas  S.  Price,  present  county  clerk.  Af- 
ter his  election  as  clerk  Mr.  Price  desired  to 
retire  from  the  printing  business,  and  in 
March,  1880,  Richard  Talbot  again  became 
the  senior  editor  and  publisher  of  the  jiaper. 
It  is  a  good  live  newspaper,  and  the  Demo- 
cratic organ  for  this  county. 

The  Robinson  Argus. — The  first  number  of 
the  Argus  was  issued  December  10,  1863,  by 
George  W.  Harper,  the  present  editor  and 
proprietor,  under  whose  control  it  has  been 
ever  since,  excepting  a  few  months  in  1866- 
67.     The  office  was  leased  to  Wm.    Benson, 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


85 


a  printer  from  Sullivan,  Iiid.,  in  October, 
1SG6,  under  whose  management  the  paper 
suspended  in  about  three  months.  On  ac- 
count of  a  severe  affliction  of  rheumatism, 
from  whiih  Mr.  Harper  has  been  troubled 
more  or  less  from  boj-hood,  he  sold  the  office 
after  its  suspension,  but  no  satisfactory  ar- 
rangements being  made  for  resuming  publi- 
cation of  the  paper,  he  repurchased  it  in  some 
two  or  three  months,  and  its  publication  was 
resumed  by  W.  E.  Carothers,  under  Mr. 
Harper's  management.  This  arrangement 
not  proving  satisfactory,  Mr.  Harper  in  a  few 
motiths  again  assumed  full  charge  of  the  pa- 
per as  editor,  publisher  and  proprietor,  and 
by  strict  attention  to  Dusiness  and  good  man- 
agement, has  made  it  rank  with  the  best 
country  papers  of  the  State.  The  office  is 
equipped  with  a  fine  cylinder  press,  and  ma- 
terial for  doing  fine  printing  of  all  kinds,  pre- 
senting quite  a  contrast  to  the  outfit  with 
which  the  paper  was  started,  occupying  then 
a  small  room  with  only  one  10xl2-light  win- 
dow. The  paper  being  of  the  minority  party, 
published  in  a  town  which  had  less  than  800 
inhabitants  until  within  the  last  six  or  seven 
years,  enjo^'ing  none  of  the  "official"  pat- 
ronage of  county  officers,  has  proved  a  mira- 
cle of  success,  and  is  a  worthy  tribute  to  the 
business  enterprise  and  management  of  its 
proprietor. 

The  Real  Estate  Advertiser. — This  was 
a  monthly  publication  started  at  Palestipe 
in  October,  1871,  by  Andrew  E.  Bristol,  a 
real  estate  agent  at  that  place.  The  pnper 
was  printed  at  the  Argus  office  in  Robinson. 
It  was  very  ably  edited,  containing  historical 
articles,  and  others  calculated  to  advertise  the 
fertility  of  the  soil  and  business  resources  of 
the  county.  Mr.  B.  was  competent  to  his 
task,  and  would  no  doubt  have  made  a  suc- 
cess of  his  undertaking.  After  issuing  the 
fcecond  number  of  the  paper,  and  while  prepar- 
ing copy  for  the  third  in  his  room   one   night, 


he  was  suddenly  stricken  with  paralysis,  and 
laj'  upon  the  floor  helpless  through  the  night 
and  a  greater  portion  of  the  succeeding  day, 
before  being  discovered.  He  had  suifered 
intensely  during  this  time,  and  died  in  a  few 
days  afterward. 

The  Palestine  JVeirs.- — The  N'ews  was  a 
little  paper  started  at  Palestine  in  187'i  by 
N.  M.  P.  Spurgeon,  a  semi-mute  printer, 
who,  after  publishing  it  some  six  months, 
removed  to  Hutsonville,  where  the  publica- 
tion was  continued  as  the  Hutsonville  N^ews 
some  six  months  longer,  when  it  went,  too,  to 
its  last  rest. 

7^he  Crawford  Democrat. — This  was  the 
next  paper  started  "  to  fill  a  long-felt  want," 
and  made  its  appearance  in  Robinson  in  May, 
1879,  with  Ira  Lutes  as  editor  and  proprietor. 
Mr.  Lutes  had  previously  been  engaged  in 
mercantile  Inisiness  in  Robinson,  became  dis- 
satisfied, and  thought  the  newspaper  business 
his  special  forte.  After  the  lapse  of  some 
five  or  six  months  he  conceived  the  idea  that 
this  was  not  a  proper  location,  and  packed 
his  material  and  removed  to  Lincoln,  Kansas, 
where  he  started  up  again,  but  soon  after- 
ward sold  out  and  went  into  other  business. 

The  Palestine  Saturday  Call. — This  paper 
was  started  in  July,  1880,  by  W.  E.  Carothers, 
a  printer  who  had  at  different  times  been  em- 
ployed on  the  Argus.  The  paper  was  printed 
at  the  Argits  office.  An  edition  for  Hutson- 
ville, under  the  name  of  the  Herald,  was  also 
issued.  The  Call  was  a  spicy  little  local 
paper,  started  on  the  "  three  months  plan." 
Although  it  had  proved  a  financial  success, 
its  publisher  chose  to  aljandon  it  at  the  end 
of  the  first  quarter,  to  prevent  its  becoming 
stranded  on  financial  breakers. 

The  Anti- Monopolist  was  started  by  "The 
Anti-Monopolist  Publishing  Co.,"  at  Robin- 
son, just  prior  to  the  election  last  fall,  printed 
from  the  old  material  of  the  Hutsonville 
Keirs,   on   the  Argus  press.     After   issuing 


86 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


some  three  or  four  numbers,  the  paper  was 
suspended  for  a  few  weeks,  when  the  com- 
pany purchased  a  small  establishment  and 
resumed  publication. 

Educational. — In  the  early  settlement  of 
this  part  of  the  State,  there  were  a  great 
many  influences  that  worked  ajrainst  general 
education.  Neighborhoods  were  thinly  set- 
tled, money  was  scarce,  and  the  people  were 
generally  poor.  There  were  no  sclioolhouses, 
nor  was  there  any  public  school  fund  to  build 
schoolhouses,  or  even  to  pay  teachers.  Added 
to  this  was  the  fact  that  many  of  the  early 
settlers  were  from  the  Southern  States — a 
section  that  did  not  manifest  as  great  an  in- 
terest in  educational  matters  as  New  En- 
gland. And  still  another  drawback  was  the 
lack  of  books  and  of  teachers;  besides,  all 
persons  of  either  sex,  who  had  physical 
strength  enough  to  labor,  were  compelled  to 
take  their  part  in  the  work,  that  of  the 
women  being  as  heavy  and  important  as  that 
of  the  men;  and  this  strain  upon  their  indus- 
try continued  for  years.  When  we  consider 
all  these  facts  together,  we  are  led  to  wonder 
that  the  pioneers  had  any  schools  at  all. 

As  soon,  however,  as  the  settlements  would 
at  all  justify  such  a  spirit  of  development, 
schools  were  established  in  the  different 
neighborhoods,  and  any  vacant  cabin,  or 
stable,  or  other  outhouse  was  brought  into 
service,  and  made  to  do  duty  as  a  temple  of 
learning.  The  Fchools  were  paid  for  by  in- 
dividual subscription,  at  the  rate  of  aliout  50 
or  75  cents  a  month  per  scholar.  Although 
the  people  of  Illinois  and  of  Crawford  County 
displayed  such  early  interest  in  educational 
matters,  the  cause  met  with  many  difficulties, 
and  its  progress  was  slow  in  the  extreme. 
The  pioneer  schoolhouses,  as  a  general  thing, 
were  of  a  poor  quality.  In  towns  they  were 
dilapidated  buildings,  either  frame  or  log, 
and  in  the  country  they  were  invariably  of 
logs.     As   a   general    thing  but  one   style  of 


architecture  was  used  in  building  them.  They 
were  erected,  not  from  a  regular  i'und  or  sub- 
scription, but  by  labor  given.  The  neighliors 
would  gather  together  at  some  place  previ- 
ously agreed  upon,  and  with  ax  in  hand,  the 
logs  were  cut,  and  the  cabin  soon  erected. 
The  roof  was  of  broad  boards,  and  a  rude 
fireplace  and  clapboard  door,  a  puncheon 
floor,  and  the  cracks  filled  with  "chinks," 
and  these  daubed  over  with  mud,  completed 
the  building.  The  furniture  was  as  rude  and 
primitive  as  the  house  itself,  and  the  books 
were  limited  in  quantity  and  quality,  and 
were  in  keeping  with  the  house'  and  its  fur- 
nishings. But  it  is  unnecessary  to  follow  the 
description  further.  Those  who  have  known 
only  the  perfect  system  of  schools  of  the 
present  can  form  no  idea  of  the  limited  ca- 
pacity of  educational  facilities  here  from 
fifty  to  seventy-five  years  ago.  But  there  are, 
no  doubt,  many  still  living  in  Crawford  Coun- 
ty who  can  recall  their  experience  in  the 
pioneer  schools  and  schoolhouses. 

Nothing  for  which  the  State  pays  money 
yields  so  large  a  dividend  upon  the  cost  as 
the  revenue  expended  upon  education.  The 
influence  of  the  school-room  is  silent,  like  all 
the  great  forces  of  the  universe.  The  sun 
shines  without  shouting,  "  Behold  the  I'ght!" 
Gravitation  spins  the  planets  in  their  paths, 
and  we  hear  the  cracking  of  no  heavy  timbers 
and  the  grinding  of  no  great  iron  axles.  So, 
from  the  humble  scene  of  the  teacher's  labors, 
there  are  shot  into  the  heart  of  society  the 
great  influences  that  kindle  its  ardors  for  ac- 
tivity, which  light  civilization  on  its  widening 
way,  and  which  hold  the  dearest  of  humanity 
in  its  hand.  The  statistics  are  the  smillost 
exponents  of  the  worth  of  our  schools.  There 
are  values  that  can  not  be  expressed  in  dollars 
anil  cents,  nor  be  quoted  in  price-currents. 

The  governing  power  in  every  country  upon 
the  face  of  the  globe  is  an  educated  power. 
The  Czar  of  the  Russias,  ignorant  of  interna- 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


87 


tioiial  law,  of  domestic  relations,  of  finance, 
commerce  and  the  or<2;aiiization  of  armies  and 
navies,  could  never  hold  under  the  sway  of 
his  scepter,  70,000,000  of  subjects.  An  au- 
tocrat must  be  intelligent  and  virtuous,  or 
only  waste  and  wretchedness  and  wreck  can 
wait  upon  his  reign.  England  with  scrupu- 
lous car.',  fosters  her  great  universities  for  the 
training  of  the  sons  of  the  nobility  for  their 
places  in  the  House  of  Lords,  in  the  army, 
navy  and  church.  What,  then,  ought  to  be 
the  character  of  citizenship  in  a  country 
where  every  man  is  born  a  king,  and  sover- 
eign heir  to  all  the  franchises  and  trusts  of 
the  State  and  Republic?  An  ignorant  people 
can  be  governed,  but  only  an  intelligent 
people  can  govern  themselves;  and  that  is 
the  experiment  we  are  trying  to  solve  in 
these  United  States. 

Every  observing  student  of  the  biography 
of  our  representative  men,  has  been  struck 
with  the  preponderance  of  those  who  re- 
ceived their  education  in  the  old  log  school- 
house.  They  are  designated  "  self-made 
men";  but  the  aspirations  that  have  enabled 
them  to  mount  to  prominence  and  distinction 
are  oftenest  the  product  of  inspirations 
awakened  by  the  studies  that  put  the  key  in 
their  hands  that  unlocks  the  storehouses  of 
knowledge.  It  has  been  quoted  until  it  has 
become  stale,  that  "  a  little  learning  is  a  dan- 
gerous thing";  but  there  has  been  a  period 
in  the  history  of  every  scholarly  mind  when 
its  attainments  were  small.  The  superiority 
of  communities  in  which  learning  is  fostered, 
over  those  in  which  ignorance  reigns,  has 
been  the  subject  of  pleasing  reflection  to 
every  man  who  appreciates  the  advantages 
of  intelligence.  The  transforming  power  of 
a  good  school  upon  any  neighborhood  hitherto 
without  one,  or  possessed  of  an  indifferent 
one,  has  shown,  in  every  case  where  the  ex- 
periment has  been  tried,  the  happy  effects 
ensuing,  which    mark  the  transition   and  the 


consequences  that  wait  upon  the  flight  of  a 
single  decade  of  vears.  In  such,  the  children 
of  the  poor,  competing  with  the  scions  of 
wealthy  families  for  the  rank  and  prizes  ac- 
corded intellect,  have  been  able  to  surmount 
the  privations  incident  to  poverty,  and  to  find 
their  way  into  a  society  and  pursuits  other- 
wise impossible.  Thus,  the  rich,  who  would 
have  borne  themselves  with  a  haughty  dis- 
dain toward  the  sons  and  daughters  of  their 
less  fortunate  neighbors,  have  been  com- 
pelled to  accredit  an  aristocracy  of  intellect, 
and  to  honor  with  social  respect  those  who, 
but  for  common  schools,  would  have  ever  re- 
mained the  subjects  of  a  purse-proud  neglect. 
The  first  school  in  Crawford  County  was 
taught  in  Palestine,  as  for  many  years  that 
town  was  the  Athens,  not  only  of  the  county, 
but  of  this  part  of  the  State.  It  was  of  the 
regular  pioneer  type,  and  will  be  more  fully 
described  in  the  chapters  devoted  to  Pales- 
tine. We  find  the  followinjr  among:  the 
county  records  of  the  school  at  that  place: 
"Know  all  men  by  these  presents,  that  we,  Jo- 
seph Kitchell,  Hervey  Kitchell,  Asa  Kitchell 
and  Wm.  Wilson,  are  held  and  firmly  bound 
to  Smith  Shaw,  John  Cowan  and  Benj.  Ea- 
ton, as  trustees  of  the  school  at  Palestine, 
Crawford  County,  Illinois  Territory,  and  to 
their  successors  in  office,  in  the  penal  sum  of 
five  hundred  dollars,  for  which  payment  well 
and  truly  to  be  made,  we  bind  ourselves,  our 
heirs,  executors,  etc.  The  condition  of  the 
above  obligation  is  such  that  if  the  above 
bounden  Joseph  Kitchell  shall  make  or  cause 
to  be  made  a  good  and  sufficient  deed  for  lot 
one,  in  the  town  of  Palestine,  to  the  trustees 
for  the  school  of  Palestine,  for  the  use  and 
benefit  of  a  school  in  said  town,  within  three 
years  from  date,  then  the  above  obligation  to 
be  void,  otherwise  to  remain  in  full  force. 
Witness  our  hands  and  seals,  this  Tth  day  of 
May,  1818;"  and  signed  by  the  parties  men- 
tioned above.     From  this  it  will  be  seen  that 


88 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


steps  were  taken  very  early  for  a  school  in 
the  couTity's  capital.  As  Palestine  increased 
in  wealth  and  in — children, — a  second  school- 
house  was  built,  in  connection  with  the  Ma- 
sonic fraternity,  the  upper  story  being  used 
as  a  lodge-room,  and  the  lower  story  lor  the 
Sfhool. 

The  little  school  taught  in  Palestine  more 
than  sixty  years  ago,  has  expanded  into  the 
liberal  educational  facilities  of  the  present 
day,  and  nearly  a  hundred  schools,  with  thou- 
sands of  children,  are  found  within  the  lim- 
its of  the  county.  In  illustration  of  the  rapid 
strides  made  by  education,  we  give  some  sta- 
tistics, furnished  us  by  Mr.  Moore,  late  as- 
sistant county  commissioner  of  schools,  as  fol- 
lows: 

Kumber  of  children  under  21  years  of  nge 8,189 

"  between  6  and  21  years 5,550 

of  graded  sehools  in  tlie  county 1 

of  scliool-liouses Brick 4 

Frame 83 

Log 9 

.      ^_  Total 96 

Number  of  males  attending  school 2.8(;6 

females       -  "     2.709 

'  male  teachers  employed lOB 

"  female       "  "         58 

FINANCIAL. 

Balance  on  hand  June  30,  1881 $    7,215  27 


Amount  of  State  fund  received S  5.918  90 

Special  tax  for  school  purposes 22,015  35 

Interest  on  township  fund -    1,412  47 

Keceived  from  other  sources 217  12 


Total  amount  received.. 


$-9,59?,  U 


Grand  total $36,809,11 

Amount  paid  teachers $20  741  91 

For  building  school-houses 6,500  32 

School  sites  and  buildings 136  85 

Repairs  and  iniprovenienls 1,376  80 

Incidental  expenses 2,183  95 


Total  expenditures 

Balance  on  hand,  June  30, 1682.. 


$S0,939>S3 
S  ,869  28 


Principal  of  township  fund $22,146  48 

There  is  one  well-grounded  criticism  upon 
the  schools,  not  only  of  Crawford  County,  but 
most  of  the  counties  in  Southern  Illinois,  viz.: 
the   small   salary  paid    the    county   commis- 


sioner of  schools,  which  is  far  below  that  in 
the  central  and  northern  part  of  the  State. 
The  small  compensation  allowed  the  commis- 
sioner, is  no  object  to  a  man  qualified  for  the 
position,  or  when  held  in  connection  with 
some  other  business,  of  sufficient  inducement 
to  command  much  of  his  attention.  The  com- 
missioner should  be  paid  a  salary  large  enough 
to  enable  him  to  devote  his  entire  time  and 
attention  to  the  schools,  without  being  com- 
pelled to  add  some  other  calling  in  order  to 
eke  out  a  living.  Better  compensation  would 
also  be  the  means  of  securing  a  man — or  a 
woman, — better  qualified  for  the  position, 
and  the  schools  be  thereby  greatly  benefited. 
Jie/if/ious. — Eighteen  hundred  years  ago 
the  Son  of  Man  gave  the  command,  "  Go  ye 
into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to 
every  creature."  It  was  not  intended  alone 
for  the  salvation  of  those  nations  which 
brought  tribute  to  Ciesar,  but  with  prophetic 
vision  the  world's  great  Redeemer  gazed  on 
nations  then  unborn,  and  heard  the  cry  of 
those  who  groaned  beneath  the  yoke  of  sin. 
Then  for  the  redemption.  He  gave  to  his  dis- 
ciples the  commands  which,  in  later  years, 
have  caused  His  people  to  widely  spread 
God's  glorious  truth. 

The  solitary  settlers  of  the  western  frontier 
rejoiced  to  hear  the  early  messengers  of  God 
proclaim  the  "glad  tidings  of  great  joy,"  or 
wept  at  the  story  of  Pilate,  his  pitiless  crown 
of  thorns,  and  the  agonies  of  Golgotha  and 
Calvary.  The  dark  and  gloomy  forests  were 
pierced  by  the  light  that  shone  from  the  Star 
of  Bethlehem,  and  the  hymns  of  praise  to  God 
were  mingled  with  the  sound  of  the  pioi.eer's 
ax,  as  he  reared  his  lone  cabin  for  the  shelter 
of  his  loved  ones.  These  early  ministers  ex- 
posed themselves  to  all  the  dangers  of  the 
wilderness,  that  they  might  do  their  Master's 
will,  and  up  yonder  they  should  receive 
crowns  bright  with  many  jewels.  They  trav- 
eled on  foot  or  on  horseback,  among  the  early 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


89 


settlers  of  Crawford  County,  stopping  where 
night  overtook  them,  and  receiving  the  hospi- 
talities of  the  cabin  "  without  money  and 
without  price."  Reverently  asking  the  bless- 
ing of  God  upon  all  they  did,  their  lives  were 
simple  and  unostentatious,  their  wants  few 
and  easily  satisfied;  their  teachings  were 
plain  and  unvarnished,  touched  with  no  elo- 
quence save  that  of  their  daily  living,  which 
was  seen  and  known  of  all  men.  They  were 
of  different  religious  sects,  yet  no  discord  was 
ever  manifested  between  them,  but  a  united 
effort  was  made  by  them  to  show  men  the 
way  to  better  things  by  better  living,  and 
thus,  finally,  to  reach  that  best  of  all — a  home 
in  Heaven,  that 

"  The  good  old  paths  are  good  enough, 
The  fathere  walked  to  Heaven  in  them,  and 
By  following  meekly  where  they  trod,  all  reach 
The  home  they  found." 

They  were  not  only  physicians  for  the  soul's 
cure,  but  they  sometimes  administered  to  the 
body's  ailments.  They  married  the  living 
and  buried  the  dead;  they  clirlstened  the 
babe,  admonished  the  young  and  warned  the 
old;  they  cheered  the  despondent,  rebuked 
the  willful  and  hurled  the  vengeance  of  eter- 
nal burnings  at  the  desperately  wicked. 
Wherever  they  went  they  were  welcome,  and 
notice  was  sent  around  to  the  neighbors  and 
a  meeting  was  held,  and  all  listened  with 
rapt  attention  to  the  promises  of  the  gospel. 
For  years  these  pioneer  preachers  could  say 
literally,  as  did  the  Master  before  them,  "  The 
foxes  have  holes,  and  the  birds  of  the  air 
have  nests,  but  they  (the  sons  of  men)  had 
not  where  to  lay  their  heads."  An  old  min- 
ister, speaking  of  the  establishing  of  churches 
in  the  frontier  settlements,  said:  "It  used 
to  make  my  heart  sick  in  the  early  days  of 
my  ministry  to  dismiss  members  of  my 
charge  to  churches  in  distant  regions,  and 
have  brothers,  and  sisters  and  neighbors  leave 
us  for   the   new    settlement   in    the    opening 


territories.  But  as  I  have  grown  older,  and 
followed  these  emigrants  to  their  new  homes 
and  have  found  them  far  more  useful  in 
church  and  State  than  they  ever  could  have 
been  in  the  regions  they  left  behind,  where 
others  held  the  places  of  influence;  as  I  have 
seen  them  giving  a  healthy  and  vigorous  tone 
to  society,  while  the  separation  causes  a  pang 
of  sorrow,  the  good  accomplished  more  than 
compensates  for  the  pleasure  lost." 

The  good  seed  thus  carried  by  emigrants 
is  usually  sufficient  to  begin  the  work  of  rais- 
ing society  to  a  higher  level  of  civilization, 
and  their  transforming  power  counteracts 
those  demoralizing  influences  which  tend  to 
social  degeneration  and  disruption.  These 
Christian  influences  are  active  in  their  con- 
flicts with  evil  and  attractive  in  social  power; 
and  they  generally  act  as  a  nucleus  around 
which  gather  the  refining  influences  necessary 
to  carry  society  onward  to  a  state  of  compar- 
ative perfection.  We  may  see  by  comparing 
the  past  and  present,  how  much  has  been 
done  in  this  respect.  The  progress  and  tri- 
umph of  Christian  truth,  the  superstructure 
on  which  societv  must  rest,  if  it  ever  approx- 
imates perfection,  is  made  apparent.  It  is 
thus  easily  to  be  seen  that  no  other  power 
than  Christian  truth  can  vitalize,  expand,  har- 
monize, direct  and  control  the  forces  which 
underlie  and  build  up  the  great  fabric  of  so- 
ciety. 

The  Baptists  were  the  pioneers  of  religion 
in  Crawford  County.  They  were  of  what  is 
denominated  the  "  Hardshell  "  Baptists,  and 
had  ministers  here  among  the  first  settlers. 
They  were  followed  soon  after  by  the  Method- 
ists, who  built  the  first  house  of  worship  in 
the  county.  The  first  Baptist  preachers  were 
Thomas  Kennedy  and  Daniel  Parker,  both 
early  residents  of  this  portion  of  the  country. 
Elder  Newport  was  also  an  early  Baptist 
preacher,  but  lived  in  what  is  now  Clark 
County.      His   ministrations,  however,   were 


90 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


not  confined  to  any  particular  section,  but  de- 
voted to  the  needy  in  every  community. 
Elder  Daniel  Parker  was  a  zealous  minister 
and  preached  almost  everywhere  and  to 
everybody.  He  preached  from  Illinois  to 
Texas  and  back  to  Illinois,  and  then  made  up 
a  colony  which  he  led  to  Texas.  They  made 
the  trip  by  land,  and  every  night  during  the 
journey  they  assembled  around  the  camp-fire, 
held  religious  services,  passing  the  evening 
in  prayer  and  praise  to  the  Giver  of  all  good. 
Arriving  in  Texas  the  colony  continued  an 
organized  society  under  the  name  of  "  Pil- 
grim Church,"  which  name  they  had  borne 
during  their  "sojourn  in  the  wilderness." 
The  l,amotte  Church  was  organized  by  these 
plain  and  simple  old  ministers,  thefi  rst 
church  organization,  perhaps,  in  the  county. 
Elder  Parker  was  a  prominent  man  in  the 
early  history  of  this  section  of  the  country, 
and  has  been  termed  one  of  the  ablest  men 
ever  in  Crawford  County.  Aside  from  his 
ecclesiastical  duties,  he  found  time  to  mingle 
in  temporal  matters.  He  served  as  State 
Senator  in  the  Third  and  Fourth  General  As- 
semblies, and  was  an  active  and  able  legis- 
lator. He  was  plain  and  unpolished — the 
diamond  in  its  rough  state — honest  to  a  fault, 
kindly,  and  of  the  justest  impulses,  a  noble 
type  of  a  race  fast  passing  away. 

Elder  Thomas  Kennedy  was  also  prominent 
in  the  business  affairs  of  the  county.  He  was 
its  first  treasurer;  was  county  commissioner 
of  schools,  probate  judge,  etc.,  and  was  thus 
enabled  to  deal  out  justice  to  either  religious 


or  profane  delinquents.  He  was  not  the  equal 
of  Parker  in  intellect,  but,  nevertheless,  was 
no  ordinary  man.  Of  Newport  more  will  be 
said  in  the  second  part  of  this  volume. 

The  first  Methodist  preacher  was  Rev. 
John  Dolhjjhan.  He  lived  in  that  portion  of 
the  county  afterward  stricken  off  in  Law- 
rence, and  settled  there  prior  to  1820.  Rev. 
Mr.  Fox  was  the  first  Methodist  preacher  in 
the  Palestine  settlement.  These  were  not 
what  the  world  would  call  gifted  preachers, 
but  they  were  earnest  and  instructive,  and 
faithful  to  the  religion  they  taught.  As  emi- 
grants came  in  and  the  people  increased  in 
worldly  wealth,  steps  were  taken  to  provide 
for  their  spiritual  welfare.  At  first  religious 
meetings  were  held  in  any  vacant  cabin,  or 
in  people's  houses,  but  with  the  growth  of  the 
coinitry  religious  societies  were  organized, 
and  churches  were  built,  until  the  silence  of 
the  landscape  was  broken  by 

" the  sweet  and  solemn  hymn 

Of  Sabbath  worshippers." 

The  first  church  in  the  county  was  built  at 
Palestine  by  the  Methodists.  A  few  years 
later  the  Presbyterians  also  erected  a  church 
there.  Hebron  church  was  built  very  early, 
and  was  perhaps  the  next  in  the  county. 
Temples  of  worship  may  now  be  seen  in 
every  village,  hamlet  and  neighborhood.  But 
the  churches  and  church  organizations  will  re- 
ceive a  more  extended  notice  in  the  chapters 
devoted  to  the  several  townships  and  vil- 
lages. 


CHAPTER    IX.* 


WAR  HISTORY— THE    STRUGGLE    FOR    INDEPENDENCE— OUR    SECOND    "ROUND"    "WITH 

JOHN  BULL— BLACK   HAWK  AND  HIS  BRAVES,  AND  HOW  WE  THRASHED  THEM 

—THE  MEXICAN  WAR-ILLINOIS'    PARTICIPATION    IN    IT- WAR   OF 

THE    REBELLION— DIFFERENT   REGIMENTS    IN    WHICH 

CRAWFORD    COUNTY    WAS    REPRESENTED— 

FACTS    AND    INCIDENTS    OF    THE 

WAR,    ETC.,    ETC. 


"  Fair  as  the  earliest  beam  of  eastern  light. 
When  first,  by  the  bewildered  pilgrim  spied. 

It  smiles  I  pon  the  dreary  brow  of  night. 
And  silvers  o'er  the  torrent's  foaming  tide. 
And  lights  the  fearful  path  on  monntain  side; 

Fair  as  that  beam,  although  the  fah-est  far, 
Giving  to  horror  grace,  to  danger  pride, 

Shine  martial  Faith,  and  Courtesy's  briglit  star. 

Throogh  all  the  wreckful  storms  that  cloud  the 
brow  of  war." 

—Scott. 

ALTHOUGH  as  a  nation  we  are  over  a  hun- 
dred years  old,  j'et  we  have  lived,  com- 
paratively, a  quiet  and  peaceable  life.  Aside 
iVdni  our  strujTgles  with  the  Indians  (in  many  of 
which  they  had  the  better  cause),  we  have  had 
but  few  wars.  But  those  in  which  we  have  in- 
dulired,  have  been  wars  of  more  than  ordinary 
importance.  We  started  out  in  business  for 
ourselves  by  threshing  our  paternal  ancestor, 
Mr.  John  Bull,  thereby  inaugurating'  what  is 
known  in  American  history  as  the  Revolu- 
tionary War,  and  in  time  achieving  our  lib- 
erty and  independence.  Liberty  and  inde- 
pendence! Often  as  the  wheels  of  iime  roll 
on  the  anniversary  of  American  Independ- 
ence, so  often  does  our  patriotic  zeal  blaze 
out  from  one  end  of  the  Union  to  the  other, 
in  commemoration  of   those    brave   war-worn 

*  By  W.  H.  Pen-in. 


veterans,  who  bought  with  tlieir  blood  our 
freedom.  When  the  war  was  over  and  our  in- 
dependence acknowledged,  the  patriot  sol- 
diery was  paid  off  in  valueless  paper  and  in 
western  lands.  This  brought  many  of  them 
to  the  West,  mostly  to  Ohio  and  Kentucky,  as 
the  lands  of  those  States  were  in  market 
some  time  before  those  of  Illinois.  There 
were,  however,  a  number  of  Revolutionary 
soldiers  among  the  early  settlers  of  Southern 
Illinois  and  of  Crawford  Uounty.  But  after 
this  long  lapse  of  time,  it  is  impossible  to 
designate  all  who  participated  in  the  war  for 
libertv,  and  we  shall  not  attempt  it.  We 
have  heard  of  but  three,  viz.:  Asahel  Has- 
kins,  Daniel  Kinney  and  George  Miller.  Ref- 
erence is  merely  made  to  that  war  as  a  pre- 
lude to  others  that  have  followed  it,  and  which 
will  occupy  considerable  of  our  space  in  the 
subsequent  pages. 

After  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War 
our  martial  experience  was  confined  to  the 
Indians  until  our  second  war  with  Groat  Brit- 
ain, which  terminated  with  that  brilliant  tri- 
umph of  American  arms,  the  victory  of  Gen. 
Jackson  at  New  Orleans  on  the  8th  of  Janu- 
ary, 1815.  The  opening  scenes  of  this  war 
were  characterized  by  defeat,  disgrace  and 
disaster;  but  toward  the  close  of  the  struggle 
a  series  of  glorious  achievements  compensated 


92 


HISTORY   OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


for  these  misfortunes.  Croafhan's  sfallant  de- 
fense  of  Fort  Stephenson;  Perry's  victory  on 
Lake  Erie;  the  total  defeat  by  Gen.  Harrison 
of  the  allied  Biitish  and  Indians  under  Proc- 
tor and  Tecumseh  on  the  Thames,  togetlier 
with  the  closing  scene  at  New  Orleans,  have 
few  parallels  in  modern  warfare.  The  people 
then  living  in  what  is  now  Crawford  County, 
though  far  removed  from  the  seat  of  war,  felt 
its  effects  in  some  degree.  The  Indians  in 
this  section,  as  already  noticed,  became  some- 
what unruly,  and  bands  of  them  took  the  war- 
path, though  they  committed  few  depreda- 
tions on  the  people  of  this  county.  Their 
conduct,  however,  occasioned  considerable 
anxiety,  and  kept  the  people  continually  on 
the  lookout  for  danger.  Many  of  the  early 
settlers  who  came  to  the  county  following  the 
war  of  1812,  had  participated  in  it  some  time 
during  iis  progress.  But  there  is  no  record 
now  by  which  to  obtain  any  reliable  data  of 
tho-e  old  soldiers  and  their  exploits,  and  we 
pass  on,  with  this  brief  allusion  to  the  sub- 
ject. 

The  Blade  HawJc  War. — This  war  brings 
us  to  a  period  in  the  history  of  Crawford 
County,  whpn  she  had  attained  an  impor- 
tance second  to  few  counties  in  the  State,  as 
evinced  by  the  part  she  took  in  the  chas- 
tisement of  Black  Hawk.  We  shall  now  no- 
tice briefly  some  of  the  leading  incidents  and 
facts  pertaining  to  this  war. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  go  into  the  details 
which  originated  the  Black  Hawk  War.  It  is 
the  old  story  of  the  white  man's  oppression 
and  the  Indian's  resentment.  Speaking  of 
the  causes  which  eventually  led  to  it.  Gov. 
Edwards,  in  his  history  of  Illinois,  says: 
"There  is  no  doubt,  however,  that  the  whites, 
who  at  this  period  were  immigrating  in  large 
numbers  to  the  northwest,  and  earnestly  de- 
sired their  removal  further  Westward,  pur- 
posely exasperated  the  Indians,  at  the  same 
time  that  they  greatly    exaggerated  the  hos- 


tilities committed."  The  Indians  thus  mad- 
dened by  the  encroachments  of  the  whites 
upon  their  hunting  grounds,  and  the  insults 
and  injuries  heaped  upon  X.\wm  by  their  pale- 
faced  enemies,  finally  broke  out  in  open  war, 
and  gathered  around  Black  Hawk  as  their 
leader. 

When  war  commenced,  Crawford  County 
aroused  herself  to  action,  and  many  of  her 
able-bodied  men  shouldered  their  guns  and 
marched  to  the  scene  of  conflict.  Two  full 
companies  were  sent  from  Crawford,  while 
others  served  in  companies  and  regiments 
recruited  elsewhere.  Captain  Highsmith's 
company  formed  a  part  of  the  second  regi- 
ment of  the  second  brigade,  and  from  the  re- 
port of  the  adjutant-general  of  the  State  we 
learn  that  it  enlisted  in  June,  1832,  and  was 
as  follows:  William  Highsmith,  captain; 
Samuel  V.  Allen,  first  lieutenant;  John  H. 
McMickle,  second  lieutenant;  B.  B.  Piper, 
first  sergeant;  Thos.  Fuller,  second  ser- 
geant; Wra.  McCoy,  third  sergeant;  John 
A.  Christy,  fourth  sergeant;  Nathan  High- 
smith,  first  corporal;  Martin  Fuller;  second 
corporal;  Jackson  James,  third  corporal; 
John  Lagow,  fourth  corporal;  and  John 
Allison,  Samuel  H.  Allison,  David  M.  Alli- 
son, John  Brimberry,  John  Barrick,  Benj. 
Carter,  James  Condrey,  Thomas  Easton,  John 
Gregg,  Wm.  R.  Grise,  Peter  Garrison,  Hi- 
ram Johnson,  John  Johnson,  Geoige  W.  Kin- 
ney, James  Lewis,  Wm.  Levitt,  John  L.  My- 
ers, A.  W.  Myers,  Andrew  Montgomery, 
Isaac  Martin,  John  Parker,  Sr.,  William  Par- 
ker, Thomas  N.  Parker,  John  Parker,  Jr., 
Amos  Phelps,  William  Reese,  Robert  Simons, 
Thomas  Stockwell,  Jacob  Vaunrinch,  James 
Weger,  privates.  The  company  was  mus- 
tered out  of  service  August  2,  1832,  at  Dix- 
on's Ferry,  Illinois,  its  term  of  enlistment 
having  expired. 

Houston's  company  also  belonged  to  the 
second  regiment  of  the  second  brigade.     It 


HISTORY   OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


was  enrolled  June  19,  1833,  and  was  as  fol- 
lows: Alexander  M.  Houston,  captain;  George 
"W.  Lagow,  first  lieutenant;  James  Boat- 
right,  second  lieutenant;  O.  F.  D.  Hampton, 
first  sergeant;  Levi  Harper,  second  sergeant; 
David  Porter,  third  sergeant;  James  Christy, 
fourth  sergeant;  Cornelius  Doherty,  first  cor- 
poral; James  B.  Stark,  second  corporal; 
Joseph  .Jones,  third  corporal;  Rivers  Heath, 
fourth  corporal;  Francis  Waldrop,  bugler, 
and  Geo.  W.  Baugher,  Blanton  Blathares, 
John  Bogard,  Andrew  Baker,  Alexander 
Boatright,  Samuel  Cruse,  Silas  L.  Danforth, 
Geo.  B.  Doughton,  Edwin  Fitch,  Henry 
Fowler,  John  Goodwin,  Silas  Goodwin,  Rob- 
ert Grinton,  John  Hutton,  Joseph  Hackett, 
John  A.  Hackett,  Wm.  Hawkins,  John 
Houne,  Wicklitfe  KitchelL'  James  Kuyken- 
dall,  Alexander  Logan,  Matthew  Lackey, 
John  McCoy,  Johnson  Neeley,  Robert  Por- 
ter, Wm.  Porter,  Wm.  Pearson,  Joseph  Pear- 
son, Edwin  Pearson,  Zalmon  Phelps,  Samuel 
Shaw,  John  Stewart,  John  F.  Vandeventer, 
Vastin  Wilson,  Jacob  Walters,  privates. 
This  company  was  mounted,  and  was  mus- 
tered out  of  the  service  at  the  end  of  the 
term  of  its  enlistment,  August  15,  1833,  by 
order  of   Brigadier  General  Atkinson. 

The  war  ended  with  the  battle  of  August 
3,  1833,  at  the  mouth  of  Bad  Axe,  a  creek 
emptying  into  the  Mississippi  River,  a  short 
distance  above  Prairie  du  Chien.  In  Sep- 
tember a  treaty  was  made,  which  ended  the 
Indian  troubles  in  this  State.  Black  Hawk 
had  been  captiired,  and  upon  regaining  his 
liberty  ever  after  remained  friendly  to  the 
whites. 

Tlie  3Iexican  War. — All  readers  of  our 
history  are  acquainted  with  the  events  which 
led  to  the  war  between  the  United  States 
and  Mexico.  It  resulted  from  the  "annexa- 
tion of  Texas,"  as  it  was  known,  a  former 
province  of  Muxico,  and    her  adniissiou  as  a 


State  into  the  Federal  Union.  Texas  had  re- 
volted, and  for  years  her  citizens  had  been 
carrying  on  a  kind  of  guerrilla  warfare  with 
Mexico — a  war  attended  with  varied  results, 
sometimes  one  party,  and  sometimes  the 
other,  being  successful.  The  battle  of  San 
Jacinto  was  fought  in  1836,  and  the  Texans 
achieved  a  brilliant  victory,  capturing  Santa 
Anna,  then  Dictator  of  Mexico,  and  killing 
or  making  prisoners  his  entire  army.  Santa 
Anna  was  held  as  a  prisoner  of  war,  and  was 
finally  released  upon  his  signing  a  treaty  ac- 
knowledging the  independence  of  Texas. 
With  all  the  treachery  for  which  that  Repub- 
lic has  ever  been  noted,  Mexico,  in  violation 
of  every  principle  of  honor,  refused  to  recog- 
nize this  treaty,  and  continued  to  treat  Texas 
and  the  Texans  as  she  had  previously  done. 
From  this  time  on  petitions  were  frequently 
presented  to  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States,  praying  admission  into  the  Union. 
Mexico,  however,  endeavored  to  prevent  this 
step,  declaring  that  the  admission  of  Texas 
into  the  American  Union  would  be  reo^arded 
as  suificient  provocation  for  a  declaration  of 
war. 

In  the  Presidential  contest  of  1841,  between 
Henry  Clay  and  James  K.  Polk,  the  annexa- 
tion of  Texas  was  one  of  the  leading  issues 
before  the  people,  and  Mr.  Polk,  whose  party 
(the  Democrats)  favored  the  admission  of 
Texas,  being  elected,  this  was  taken  as  a 
public  declaration  on  the  subject.  After  this. 
Congress  no  longer  hesitated  as  to  the  grant- 
ing of  the  petition  of  Texas,  and  on  the  1st 
of  March,  1845,  formally  received  the  "  Lone 
Star  "  into  the  sisterhood  of  States.  In  her 
indignation,  Mexico  at  once  broke  off  all  di- 
plomatic relations  with  the  United  States, 
and  called  home  her  Minister.  This,  of  itself, 
was  a  declaration  of  war,  and  war  soon  fol- 
lowed. Congress  passed  an  act  authorizing 
the    President    to    accept    the    services    of 


94 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


50,000  volunteers  (which  were  to  be  raised  at 
once),  and  appropriated  $10,000,000  I'or  the 
prosecution  of  tlie  war. 

Illinois,  in  the  apportionment,  was  required 
to  luiriish  three  regiments  of  infantry  or  ri- 
flemen, the  entire  force  called  for  being 
drawn  principally  from  the  Southern  and 
Western  States,  on  account  of  their  closer 
proximity  to  the  scene  of  war.  Gov.  Ford, 
in  obedience  to  the  act  of  Congress,  called 
for  thirty  full  companies  of  volunteers  of  a 
maximum  of  eighty  men,  to  serve  for  twelve 
months.  The  call  was  responded  to  with  en- 
thusiasm, and  in  ten  days  thirty-five  compa- 
nies had  organized  and  reported,  and  by  the 
time  the  place  of  rendezvous  (Alton)  had 
been  selected,  seventy-five  companies  were 
recruited,  each  furious  to  go  to  the  war.  The 
Governor  was  compelled  to  select  thirty  com- 
pjinies — the  full  quota  of  the  State — and  the 
remaining  forty  odd  companies  were  doomed 
to  the  disappointment  of  staying  at  home.  A 
company  made  up  in  Crawford  County  was 
of  this  character.  Bi'lbre  they  reached  the 
"  muster  place  "  the  quota  was  filled,  and  they, 
with  the  other  companies  not  needed,  vpere 
furnished  transportation  to  their  homes  at  the 
expense  of  the  Government. 

The  three  original  regiments  were  organ- 
ized as  follows:  First  Rcqiment — John  J. 
Hardin,*  colonel;  William  B.  Warren,  lieu- 
tenant-colonel, and  Wm.  A.  Richardson,  ma- 
jor, with  ten  full  companies  rank  and  file. 
btcoml  Regiment — William  H.  Bissell,  colo- 
nel; J.  L.  D.  Morrison,  lieutenant-co'onel, 
and  Xerxes  F.  Frail,  major;  also  ten  full 
companies.  Third  Megimeiit — F.  Foreman, 
colonel;  W.  W.  Willey,  lieutenant-colonel; 
and  S.  D.  Marshall,  major;  with  likewise  ten 
companies.     At  the   expiration  of  their  term 

*  Killed  at  thfi  battle  of  Buena  Vista,  Feb.  23, 
1847,  in  the  famous  charge  with  Clay  and  McKee,  of 
Kentucky.  Wm.  Weatherford  was  afterward  elected 
colonel  of  the  regiment. 


of  service  (one  year)  the  first  and  second 
regiments  were  organized  for  "during  the 
war,"  many  of  the  soldiers  re-enlisting,  and 
the  discrepancies  being  tilled  by  new  recruits. 
Alter  the  quota  of  Illinois  had  been  filled 
by  the  organization  of  the  three  regiments 
mentioned  above,  Hon.  E.  U.  B  iker,  then  a 
member  of  Congress  from  the  Springfield 
district,  induced  the  Secretary  of  War  to  ac- 
cept another  regiment  from  this  State,  and 
thereupon  the  F'ourth  regiment  was  organized 
as  follows:  Edward  D.  Baker,  colonel;  John 
Moore,  lieutenant-colonel,  and  Thomas  L. 
Harris,  major.  This  regiment,  like  the  others, 
contained  ten  companies,  rank  and  file.  A 
number  of  independent  companies,  in  addi- 
tion to  these  four  regiments,  were  enlisted  in 
the  State  during  the  war. 

Under  the  second  call  for  troops,  a  call 
known  as  the  "Ten  R'giments  Bill,"  the 
First  and  Second  Illinois  regiments  were  re- 
organized. The  Whigs,  as  a  party,  opposed 
the  war  with  Mexico,  and  their  opposition  to 
the  measure  for  additional  troops  and  money, 
was  bitter  in  the  extreme.  It  was  in  opposi- 
tion to  this  bill  that  the  Hon.  Thos.  Corvvin, 
of  Ohio,  in  the  United  States  Senate,  made 
the  ablest,  speech  of  his  life.  In  it  he  used 
the  memorable  words  which  have  since  be- 
come proverbial:  "If  I  were  a  Mexican  I 
would  tell  you,  '  Have  you  not  room  in  your 
own  country  to  bury  your  dead  men?  If  you 
come  into  mine,  we  will  greet  you  with 
bloody  hands,  and  welcome  you  to  hospitable 
graves.'  "  But  notwithstanding  the  opposi- 
tion to  the  bill  it  passed,  and  the  war  was 
fou'^ht  out  bv  which  the  United  States  ac- 
quired valuable  territory. 

Crawford  County,  as  we  have  said,  recruited 
a  company,  but  wore  too  late,  or  too  slow  in 
their  movements,  to  be  admitted  into  the  reg- 
iments allotted  to  the  State.  Of  the  men 
comprising  this  company  we  have  but  little 
data  now,  as    the   adjutant-general's    report 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


95 


jyives  but  tlie  names  of  those  who  actually 
participated  in  the  war.  Notwithstamling 
this  company  was  not  accepted,  yet  quite  a 
number  of  men  from  the  county  went  into 
the  army  from  other  sections.  Tiie  names  of 
tiiese,  liowevor,  could  not  be  obtained.  Some 
of  them  have  moved  away,  others  are  dead, 
and  nut  one  is  now  known  to  be  livinn;  here. 
But  there  are  several  Mexican  soldiers  living 
in  the  county,  who,  at  the  time  of  their  en- 
listment lived  in  other  counties,  and  other 
States,  and  luive  removed  to  this  county  since 
ih  '  close  of  that  war. 

The  Ri  hellion. — The  lato  war  between  the 
States  next  claims  luir  :itt<'ntion.  We  do  not 
desiifn,  how -ver,  to  write  its  history,  as  there 
is,  at  ]iiesent,  more  war  literature  extant  than 
is  read.  But  a  history  of  Crawford  County 
that  did  not  contain  something  of  its  war 
record,  would  scarcely  prove  satisfactory  to 
the  general  reader.  It  is  a  duty  we  owe  to 
the  soldiers  who  took  part  in  the  bloody 
struggle,  to  preserve,  by  record,  the  leading 
facts.  Especially  do  we  owe  this  to  the  long 
list  of  the  dead,  who  laid  down  their  lives 
that  their  country  might  live;  we  owe  it  to 
the  maimed  and  mangled  cripples  who  were 
torn  by  shot  and  shell;  and,  lastly,  we  owe  it 
to  the  widows  and  orphans  of  those,  who,  for 
love  of  country,  forsook  home  with  all  its  en- 
dearments, exposing  theinselves  to  the  hor- 
rors of  war,  and  whose  bodies  now  lie  rotting 
in  the  land  of  "cotton  and  cane." 

When  the  first  call  was  made  for  volun- 
teers, it  set  the  entire  State  in  a  blaze  of  ex- 
citement. Who  does  not  remember  the  stir- 
ring days  of  '61,  when  martial  music  was 
lieard  in  every  town  ami  hamlet,  and  tender 
■women,  no  less  than  brave  men,  were  wild 
with  enthusiasm?  Wives  encouraged  their 
husbands  to  enlist,  mothers  urged  their  sons 
to  patriotic  devotion,  and  sisters  te.derly 
gave  their  brothers  to  the  cause  of  their 
country.     It  was  not  unlike  the  summons-  - 


the  fiery  cross — of  Rhodoric  Dim  to  his  clan — 

"  Fast  as  the  fatal  synibjl  flies. 
In  arms  the  huts  and  hamlets  rise; 
From  winding  glen,  and  upland  brown, 
They  poured  each  hardy  yeoman  down." 

But  the  citizens  of  Crawford  County  re- 
qu're  no  reminder  of  those  thrilling  times. 
The  naines  of  their  patriots  are  inscribed  in 
characters  that  will  stand  as  monuments  in 
the  memories  of  men,  who,  thoua:h  dead  lono- 
ago,  yet  will  live,  bright  and  imperishable  as 
the  rays  of  Ansterlitz's  sun.  Many  who  went 
forth  to  battle,  came  back  to  tlieir  homes 
shrined  in  glory.  Many  left  a  limb  in  the 
swamps  of  the  Chickahomlny;  on  the  banks 
of  the  Rapidan;  at  Fredericksliurg,  along  the 
Shenandoah,  or  in  the  Wilderness.  Many 
still  bear  the  marks  of  the  strife  which  raged 
at  Stone  River,  Chickamauga,  on  the  heights 
of  Lookout  Mountain,  where  in  the  lano-uasfe 
of   Prentice — 

" they  burst 

Like  spirits  of  des^ruction,  through  the  clouds, 
And  "mid  a  thousand  hurtling  missiles,  swept 
Their  foes  belore  them,  as  the  whirlwind  sweeps 
The  strong  oaks  of  the  forest.'' 

And  there  were  those  who  came  not  back. 
They  fell  by  the  wayside,  in  prison  and  in 
battle.  Their  memory  is  held  in  sacred 
keeping.  Others  dragged  their  wearied 
bodies  home  to  die,  and  now  sleep  beside 
their  ancestors  in  the  quiet  graveyard,  where 
the  violets  speak  in  tender  accents  of  woman- 
ly devotion  and  affection.  Some  sleep  in  un- 
known graves  where  they  fell,  but  the  same 
trees  which  shelter  the  sepulcher  of  their  foe- 
men  shade  theirs  also;  the  same  birds  carol 
their  miitins  to  both;  the  same  flowers  sweeten 
the  air  with  their  fragrance,  as  the  breezes 
toss  them  into  rippling  eddies.  Both  are  re- 
membered as  they  slumber  there  in  peaceful, 
glorified  rest. 

While  we  weave  a  laurel  crown  for  our  own 
dead,  let  us  twine  a  cypress  wreath  about  the 


96 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWF01.XJ  COUNTY. 


memory  of  those  who  fell  on  the  otlior  side, 
and  who,  though  arrayed  against  us,  were — 
OUK  BROTHERS.  Mistaken  though  they  were, 
we  reinemijer  hundreds  of  them  over  whose 
moldering  dust  we  would  gladly  plant  flowers 
with  our  own  hands.  Let  us  strike  hands 
over  the  grave  of  Slavery,  and  be  henceforth 
what  we  should  ever  have  been — "  brothers 
all." 

From  the  adjutant-general's  report  of  the 
State,  together  with  facts  gleaned  from  local 
records,  we  compile  a  brief  history  of  Craw- 
ford County  in  the  late  war.  The  sketch  is 
necessarily  limited  and  doubtless  imperfect 
but  is  complete  as  time  and  space  will  per- 
mit us  to  make  it.  A  few  words  will  be  de- 
voted to  each  regiment  drawing  men  from 
the  county.  The  first  in  the  list  was  Grant's 
old  rea-iment  (the  Twenty-first),  which  was 
recruited  in  an  early  period  of  the  war. 

The  Twenty-first  Illinois  Infantry  was  or- 
ganized at  Mattoon,  and  was  sworn  into  the 
State  Service  by  Captain  U.  S.  Grant,  May 
15,  18G1,  for  three  months,  and  on  the  28th 
of  June  following  it  was  mustered  into  the 
United  States  service  for  three  years  by 
Capt.  Pitcher,  of  the  United  States  Army, 
with  U.  S.  Grant  as  colonel.  He  was  com- 
missioned brigadier-general  on  the  6th  of 
August,  and  Col.  J.  W.  S.  Alexander  suc- 
ceeded him  as  colonel  of  the  Twenty  first. 
He  fell  at  the  battle  of  Chickamauga,  Sep- 
tember 20,  18G3,  at  the  head  of  the  gallant 
old  regiment.  George  W.  Peck  was  pro- 
moted lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Twenty-first, 
but  was  discharged  September  19,  1862,  on 
account  of  ill-health. 

Company  I  of  this  regiment  was  recruited 
in  Crawford  County,  and  was  officered  as  fol- 
lows: George  W.  Peck,  captain;  Clark  B. 
Lagow,  first  lieutenant,  and  Chester  K. 
Knight,  second  lieutenant.  Capt.  Peck  was 
promoted  to  lieutenant-colonel  September  2, 
1861,  and  Lieut.  Knight  became  captain,  and 


was  mustered  out  November  16, 1864.  Lieut. 
Lagow  resigned  in  consequence  of  having 
been  selected  by  Gen.  Grant  as  a  member  of 
his  staff.  He  served  in  this  capacity,  partici- 
pating in  all  of  Gen.  Grant's  hard  campaigns 
and  desperate  batth  s  from  Belmont  until  he 
left  the  Western  Department  to  take  com- 
mand of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  when, 
owing  to  a  long  continued  attack  of  rhcu- 
m:itism,  and  an  injury  received  from  his  horse 
falling  under  him  at  luka,  he  was  compelled 
to  resign.  He  was  promoted  from  captain 
to  colonel  of  volunteers,  and  then  to  colonel 
in  the  regular  army  for  distinguished  services 
rendered  previous  to  the  siege  of  Vicksburg. 
Durinor  the  sieg-e  Gen.  Grant  wanted  to  use 
some  steamers  below  the  city,  and  could  only 
get  them  there  bypassing  down  the  river  di- 
rectly under  the  guns  of  the  Confederate  bat- 
teries. This,  he  said,  was  such  a  desperate 
undertaking,  he  would  not  detail  any  one  to 
the  duty,  but  called  for  volunteers  to  man 
the  fleet.  Col.  Lagow,  being  of  the  number 
who  volunteered,  and  one  of  Gen.  Grant's 
tried  officers,  was  given  command  of  the  ex- 
pedition— if  such  it  could  be  called.  He 
boldly  stood  upon  the  deck  of  the  flag 
steamer  while  they  ran  the  terrible  gauntlet, 
in  face  of  the  enemy's  concentrated  batteries 
raining  shot  and  shell  upon  them.  His  ves- 
sel was  so  riddled  with  shot  that  it  had  to  be 
abandoned  in  front  of  their  batteries,  but  he 
and  the  men  surviving  the  terrible  fire  suc- 
ceeded in  boarding  another  boat.  Col.  La- 
gow came  through  the  ordeal  without  serious 
injurv,  and  saved  the  other  boats,  somewhat 
damaged,  but  not  beyond  repair,  as  their  sub- 
sequent use  demonstrated  to  the  army.  For 
this  brilliant  exploit  he  was  brevetted  briga- 
dier-general of  volunteers. 

The  Twenty-first  served  in  Jlissouri  until 
the  spring  of  1863,  when  it  was  ordered  to 
Corinth,  Miss.,  and  upon  the  evacuation  of 
that  place    was  engaged    in  several  expedi- 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUXTY. 


97 


tions  in  the  State.  It  pjirticipated  in  the 
Buell-Brag'g'  race  to  Louisville,  Ky.,  where  it 
arrived  September  37,  18G',aiid  was  engaged 
in  the  battle  of  Perryville  on  the  Sth  of  Oc- 
tober, after  which  it  returned  to  Nashville, 
Tenn.,  via  Crab  Orchard  and  Bowling  Green, 
Ky.  After  participating  in  several  trifling 
skirmishes  it  took  an  active  part  in  the  battle 
of  Muifreesboro,  doing  gallant  service,  and 
losing  more  men  than  any  other  regiment  en- 
gaged. It  was  with  Rosocrans'  army  from 
JMurfreesboro  to  Chattanooga,  and  bore  an 
honorable  part  in  tlie  bloody  battle  of  Chick- 
auiauga,  September  19th  and  20th,  1863,  los- 
ing its  colonel  kil'ed;  its  lieutenant-colonel  also 
being  wounded,  the  command  of  the  regiment 
devolved  on  Capt.  Knight.  After  the  battle 
of  Chickamauga  it  was  on  duty  at  BriJge- 
port,  Ala.,  during  the  fall  and  winter  of  1863, 
as  a  part  of  the  First  Brigade,  First  Divis- 
ion of  the  Fourth  Army  Corps.  Its  hard 
fighting  was  over,  and  after  the  close  of  the 
war  it  was  on  duty  in  Texas,  until  mustered 
out  of  the  service  at  San  Antonio,  December 
16,  1805,  when  it  returned  to  Illinois,  and  on 
the  18th  of  January,  1S66,  it  was  paid  off  and 
discharged  at  Camp  Butler. 

'  The  Thirtieth  Illinois  Infantry  was  indebt- 
ed to  Crawford  County  for  Company  D, 
which  went  into  the  service  with  the  follow- 
ing ofiScers:  Thomas  G.  Markley,  captain; 
Michael  Langton,  first  lieutenant,  and  George 
E.  Meily,  second  lieutenant.  This  company 
was  unfortunate  in  officers.  Capt.  Markley 
was  killed  in  the  battle  of  Belmont  Novem- 
ber 7,  1861;  Lieut.  Langton  was  promoted 
(laptain  in  his  place,  and  resigned  October 
23,  1862;  Lieut.  Meily  was  promoted  captain 
April  13,  1803,  and  was  killed  May  16th  fol- 
lowing; Patterson  Sharp  was  promoted  cap- 
tain June  13,  1803,  and  was  mustered  out  of 
the  service  July  8,  1805.  First  Lieut.  W.  D. 
Hand  (vas  promoted  captain  .July  10,  1805, 
but  mustered  out  as   first  lieutenant;    Martin 


L.  James  was  promoted  to  second  lieutenant, 
but  mustered  out  July  17,  1865,  as  sergeant. 

The  Thirtieth  Infantry  was  or2:anized  at 
Camp  Butler,  August  28,  1861,  and  moved  at 
once  to  Cairo,  where  it  was  assigned  to  the 
brigade  of  Gen.  John  A.  M  Clernand.  It 
was  sent  on  an  expedition  to  Columbus,  Ky., 
in  October,  and  November  7th  it  took  part  in 
the  battle  of  Belmont,  where  it  performed 
gallant  service,  capturing  the  celebrated 
Watson's  New  Orleans  battery.  In  February 
it  moved  up  the  Tennessee  River,  and  was  at 
Forts  Henry  and  Donelson.  As  a  part  of 
Logan's  brigade,  it  participated  in  the  siege 
of  Corinth.  It  served  in  Mississippi  until 
late  in  December,  when  it  was  ordered  to 
Memphis,  Tenn.,  where  it  arrived  January 
19,  1803.  Here  it  formed  a  part  of  Leg- 
gett's  brigade,  Logan's  division,  and  McPher- 
son's  corps.  In  February  it  was  ordered  to 
Louisiana,  but  in  the  latter  part  of  April  it 
returned  to  Mississippi,  taking  part  in  sev- 
eral skirmishes,  and  on  the  10th  of  May  it 
participated  in  the  battle  of  Champion  Hills, 
losing  heavily.  It  crossed  Black  River  with 
the  army,  and  arrived  in  the  rear  of  Vicks- 
burg  May  19,  1803.  It  was  actively  engaged 
in  the  siege  of  Vicksburg  until  .Tune  33J, 
when  it  moved  to  Black  R  ver,  under  Gon. 
Sherman,  to  watch  the  Confederate  Gen. 
Johnson.  After  the  fail  of  Vicksburg,  it  re- 
mained in  camp  until  August  29lh,  when  it 
removed  to  Monroe,  La.,  but  soon  returned 
and  was  on  duty  in  Mississippi  the  remain- 
der of  the  year. 

It  was  mustered  in  January  1,  1864,  as  a 
veteran  organization,  and  continued  on  duty 
in  Mississippi  until  the  5th  of  March,  when 
it  left  Vicksburg  on  veteran  furlough,  and  ar- 
rived at  Camp  Butler  on  the  12th;  on  the 
18th  of  April  it  left  for  the  front,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  Tennessee,  serving  in  that  State 
and  AlaVjama  until  the  opcn)ingof  the  Atlanta) 
Campaign,  in  which  it  took   an    active    part. 


98 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


It  participated  in  the  several  enarasements 
around  Atlanta,  and  on  the  ith  of  October  it 
went  in  pursuit  ol"  Gen.  Hood,  returning  No- 
vember 5th  to  camp.  It  accompanied  Sher- 
man's army  in  its  march  to  the  sea,  taking  part 
in  that  famous  c;impaign.  It  went  to  Wash- 
ington April  29,  1SG.5,  by  way  of  Richmond, 
participating  in  the  grand  review  May  24:th, 
at  Washington,  and  June  11th  it  left  for 
Louisville,  Ky.,  where  it  was  mustered  out  of 
the  service,  and  returned  to  Camp  Butler  for 
final  discharge. 

The  Thirty-eighth  Illinois  Infantry,  was  the 
next  regiment  to  which  the  county  con- 
tributed. Company  D  was  drawn  princi- 
pally from  Crawford,  and  went  into  the  service 
with  the  following  commissioned  officers: 
Alexander  G.  Sutherland,  captain;  James 
Moore,  first  lieutenant,  and  Robert  Plunkett, 
second  lieutenant.  Captain  Sutherland  re- 
signed April  15,  1864,  and  Robert  Duckworth 
was  elected  captain,  but  also  resigned  Sep- 
tember IS,  1865.  Lieut.  Moore  resigned  May 
29,  1863,  and  Nicholas  Glaze  was  promoted 
to  first  lieutenant  and  mustered  out  as  ser- 
geant September  14, 1864.  Robert  Stewart 
was  promoted  to  first  lieutenant  and  was 
mustered  out  with  the  regiment  March  20, 
1866.  Lieut.  Plunkett  was  mustered  out  at 
the  end  of  first  three  years. 

The  Thirty-eighth  was  organized  at  Camp 
Butler  in  September,  1861,  and  soon  after  was 
ordered  to  Missouri,  and  wintered  at  Pilot 
Knob.  In  March,  1863,  at  Reeves  Station; 
the  Twenty-first,  Thirty-third  and  Thirty- 
eighth  Illinois,  the  Eleventh  Wisconsin  In- 
fantry; the  Fifth,  Seventh  and  Ninth  Illinois 
Cavalry,  the  First  Indiana  Cavalry  and  the 
Sixteenth  Ohio  Battery,  were  formed  into  the 
Division  of  Southeast  Missouri  under  com- 
mand of  Brigadier-General  Steele.  The  first 
brigade  of  this  force  was  commanded  by  Col- 
Carlin  of  the  Thirty-eighth  Illinois,  and  con- 
sisted of  the  Twenty-first   and   Thirty-eighth 


Illinois  Infantry,  Fifth  Cavalry  and  the  Six- 
teenth Ohio  Battery.  On  the  2 1st  of  April 
the  command  moved  into  Arkansas,  Ijut  in  May 
the  Twenty-first  and  Thirty-eighth  were  or- 
dered back  to  Missouri,  and  thence  proceeded 
to  Mississippi,  arriving  before  Corinth  during 
the  last  days  of  the  siege.  It  remained  in 
Mississippi  until  August  when  it  joined  Buell's 
army  and  took  part  in  the  chase  of  Bragg 
to  Louisville.  Returning,  it  participated  in 
the  battle  of  Perryville,  capturing,  with  its 
brigade,  an  ammunition  train,  two  caissons 
and  about  one  hundred  prisoners,  and  was 
honorably  mentioned  in  Gen.  MitchpU's  re- 
port of  the  battle.  It  followed  in  pursuit  of 
Bragg  as  far  as  Crab  Orchard,  Ky.,  and  then 
returned  to  Nashville,  arriving  November  9th. 
It  advanced  with  its  brigade  from  Nashville 
December  26th  and  took  an  active  part  in  the 
battle  of  Stone  River,  in  which  it  sustained  a 
loss  of  thirty-four  killed,  one  hundred  and 
nine  wounded,  and  thirty-four  missing.  It 
remained  at  Murfreesboro  until  in  June,  1803, 
being  in  the  meantime  transferred  to  the 
Twentieth  Army  Corps.  It  was  at  Liberty 
Gap,  and  on  the  25th  of  June,  it  was  ordered 
to  relieve  the  Seventy-seventh  Pennsylvania, 
which  was  hotly  pressed  by  the  enem\-.  The 
Thirtj'-eighth  charged  across  a  plowed  field 
under  a  heavy  fire,  and  drove  the  enemy  from 
their  works  and  cajjtured  the  flag  of  the 
Second  Arkansas.  In  a  skirmish  the  next 
day  the  regiment  lost  three  men  killed  and 
nineteen  wounded.  It  remained  in  active 
service  during  the  summer  and  bore  a  promi- 
nent part  in  the  battle  of  Chickamauga  in 
which  it  lost  180  men  killed,  wounded  and 
missing,  out  of  301  who  went  into  the  battle. 
It  went  to  Bridgeport,  Ala.,  October  25th, 
where  it  went  into  winter  quarters.  February 
29,  1864,  the  regiment  re-enlisted,  and  in 
March,  came  home  on  veteran  furlough.  At 
the  expiration  of  its  furlough  it  returned  to 
Nashville,  and  on  the  17th  of  May  it  entered 


/ 


/ 


HISTOKY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


101 


upon  the  campaicru  in  Georgia,  wliich  termi- 
nated with  the  fall  of  Atlanta.  It  was  ('ni;fa"-ed 
principally  in  escort  duty,  with  frequent 
skirmishes,  until  in  June,  1805,  when  it  em- 
barked lor  New  Orleans,  and  in  July  it  went 
to  Texas,  where  it  served  until  its  muster  out 
December  31,  1865.  It  was  then  ordered  to 
Springfield,  111.,  where  it  was  paid  off  and  dis- 
charged. 

The  Sixty-second  Illinois  Infantry  drew  a 
company  from  Crawford,  as  well  as  a  couple 
of  its  field  officers.  Stephen  M.  Meeker,  the 
major  of  the  Sixty-second,  was  promoted 
lieutenant-colonel  August  13,  1863,  and  Feb- 
ruary 3,  1865,  was  discharged.  Guy  S.  Alex- 
ander, who  entered  the  service  as  second 
lieutenant  of  Company  F,  was  promoted  to 
first  lieutenant,  then  to  captain,  and  under 
the  consolidation  of  the  Sixty-second  was  pro- 
moted to   major  of  the  new  organization. 

Company  D  of  the  Sixty-second  contained  a 
few  men  from  this  county,  while  Company  F 
was  principally  made  up  here.  Company  F 
went  into  the  service  with  the  following  com- 
missioned officers:  Jesse  Crooks,  captain; 
James  J.  McGrew,  first  lieutenant,  and  Guv 
S.  Alexander,  second  lieutenant.  Captain 
Crooks  died  October  7,  1864,  and  December 
16th,  Lieutenant  Alexander  was  promoted  to 
captain.  Upon  the  promotion  of  Captain 
Alexander,  George  B.  Everingham,  who  had 
risen  to  second  and  then  to  first  lieutenant, 
was,  on  the  5th  of  May,  1865,  promoted  to 
captain,  and  transferred  to  the  consolidated 
regiment  as  captain  of  Company  F.  Lieu- 
tenant McGrew  resigned  September  11,  1862, 
and  Guy  S.  Alexander  promoted  in  his  place. 
George  F.  DollUigji  was  promoted  from 
second  lieutenant  to  first,  and  transferred, 
and  James  Moore,  John  E.  Miller  and  Wash- 
ington T.  Otey  were  promoted  to  second 
lieutenants. 

The  Sixty-second  was  organized   at  Anna, 
Illinois,  in  April,  186"2,  and   was  at  once  or- 


dered to  C.iiro.  May  7th  it  moved  to  Paducah, 
and  in  June  to  Columbus,  Ky.,  and  from  thence 
to  Tennessee.  It  remained  in  Tennessee 
until  ordered  into  Mississippi.  On  the 
20th  of  December,  Van  Dorn  captured  Hollv 
Springs,  and  among  his  prisoners  were  170 
men  of  the  Sixty-second,  including  the  major 
and  three  lieutenants.  These  were  paroled, 
but  all  the  records  and  papers  of  the  regiment 
were  destroyed.  April  15, 1863,  the  regiment 
was  brigaded  with  the  Fiftieth  Indiana, 
Twenty-seventh  Iowa  and  the  First  West 
Tennessee  regiments,  in  the  second  brigade 
of  the  Third  Division,  Sixteenth  Army  Corps. 
It  was  on  duty  in  Mississippi  and  Tennessee 
until  the  24tli  of  August,  when  it  was  ordered 
to  Arkansas,  where  it  served  until    January, 

1804.  It  then  re-enlisted  as  veterans,  and 
on  the  25th  of  April  moved  to  Pine  Bluff, 
remaining  there  until  August  12th,  when  it 
came  home  on  veteran  furlough.  At  expira- 
tion of  its  furlough  it  returned  to  Pine  Bluff, 
where  it  arrived  November  25,  1804.  Here 
the  non-%'eterans  were  mustered  out  and  the 
veterans  consolidated  into  seven  companies, 
and  remained  on  duty  at  Pine  Bluff.  July 
28,  1805,  it  was  ordered  to  Fort  Gibson,  in 
the  Cherokee  Nation,  and  served  in  the  Dis- 
trict of  the  frontier  until  March  6, 1860,  when 
it  was  mustered  out  of  service  at  Little  Rock 
and  sent  home  for  final  pay  and  discharge. 

The  Sixty-third  Illinois  Infantry  also  drew 
a  company  from  Crawford  County.  C'ompany 
G  was  enrolled  with  the  following  commis- 
sioned officers:  Joseph  R.  Stanford,  cap- 
tain; W.  B.  Russell,  first  lieutenant,  and  W. 
P.  Richardson,  second  lieutenant.  Captain 
Stanford   was  promoted    to    major,   June   14, 

1805,  and  mustered  out  with  the  regiment 
on  the  13th  of  July.  Lieutenant  Russell  re- 
signed February  4,  1803;  Second  Lieutenant 
Richardson  was  promoted  to  adjutan^.,  De- 
cember 10,  1802.  George  W.  Ball  was  made 
first  lieutenant  upon  the  resignation  of  Lieut. 


102 


HISTORY   OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


Russell,  and  died  May  34, 1884,  when  Charles 
G.  (Jochran  became  first  lieutenant,  and  on  the 
promotion  of  Capt.  Stanford,  was  made  cap- 
tain in  his  place.  Harvey  G.  Wycoff  was 
made  first  lieutenant,  but  mustered  out  as  ser- 
geant, July  13,  1865,  with  the  regiment. 
George  B.  Richardson  was  promoted  to  sec- 
ond lieutenant,  and  resigned  December  20, 
18G3;  Benj.  B.  Fannam  was  also  promoted 
to  second  lieutenant,  but  mustered  out  as  ser- 
geant. 

This  regiment,  like  the  Sixty-second,  was 
organized  at  Anna,  III.,  known  then  as  Camp 
Dubois,  in  December,  1801,  and  on  the  27th  of 
April  following  it  was  ordered  to  Cairo.  Af- 
ter a  short  expedition  into  Kentucky,  it  was, 
on  the  4th  of  August,  ordered  to  Jackson, 
Tenn.,  where  it  was  assigned  to  the  Fourth 
Brigade,  Seventh  Division  of  the  Seventeenth 
Army  Corps,  .John  A.  Logan  commanding 
the  Division.  It  operated  in  Tennessee 
and  Mississippi,  and  was  at  the  siege  of 
Vicksburg.  On  the  12th  of  September,  1803, 
it  was  ordered  to  Helena,  Ark.,  and  on  the 
28th  to  Memphis;  it  moved  toward  Chatta- 
nooga October  6th,  and  on  the  23d  of  Novem- 
ber participated  in  the  battle  of  Mission 
Ridge.  After  pursuing  the  enemy  to  Ring- 
gold, Ga.,  it  returned  to  Bridgeport,  Ala., 
thence  to  Huntsville,  where  it  arrived  on  the 
26th  and  went  into  winter  quarters.  Janu- 
ary 1,  1864,  the  regiment  re-enlisted  as  vet- 
erans, and  on  the  3d  of  April  came  home  on 
furlough.  May  21st,  it  reported  again  for  duty 
at  Huntsville  and  was  assigned  to  the  duty  of 
guarding  the  railroads  until  the  11th  of  No- 
vember, when  it  was  ordered  to  join  Gen. 
Sherman.  It  accompanied  him  in  his  cele- 
brated march  to  the  sea,  participating  in  most 
of  the  battles  and  skirmishes  of  the  campaign. 
It  left  Raleigh,  N.  C,  and  proceeded  to  Rich- 
mond, Va.,  thence  to  Washington  city,  where 
it  took  part  in  the  grand  review  on  the  24th 
of  May.     After  the  review  it  was  ordered  to 


Louisville,  Ky.,  where,  on  the  13th  of  Julj-, 
1865,  it  was  mustered  out  of  the  service  and 
sent  home.  The  following  statistics  are  fur- 
nished of  this  resriment: 

men. 

Original  aggregate 888 

Present  when  re-enlisted 322 

Veteran?  of  eiglit  companies  (two  companies  being  in- 
eligible)   '^72 

Arrival  at  Camp  Butler,  July  16, 1865,  for  discharge 272 

miles. 

Distance  traveled  by  rail 2,208 

'*  '*         **    water 1,995 

"         marched 2,250 

Total 6,453 

The  Seventy-ninth  Illinois  Infantry  con- 
tained, we  believe,  a  few  men  from  Crawford 
County;  but  no  organized  force  was  enlisted 
here  for  the  regiment.  We  have  no  data  at 
hand  of  the  recruits  from  the  county  to  the 
Seventy-ninth,  or  of   their  service. 

The  Ninety-eighth  Illinois  Infantry  drew 
more  men,  perhaps,  from  this  county,  than 
any  other  regiment.  Two  full  cotnpanies  (D 
and  E)  may  be  termed  Crawford  County 
companies.  Company  D  was  sworn  into  the 
service  with  the  following  commissioned  offi- 
cers: M'^illiam  Wood,  captain;  James  II. 
Watts,  first  lieutenant;  and  William  G. 
Young,  second  lieutenant.  Captain  Wood 
resigned,  Dec.  5,  1864,  and  Second  Lieuten- 
ant Young  became  captain  in  his  place. 
Lieutenant    Watts    resigned     February    22, 

1863,  and  David  L.  Condrey  was  promoted 
in  his  stead,  remaining  with  the  regiment  to 
its  muster-out.  Achilles  M.  Brown  became 
second    lieutenant,  and    resigned    March    22, 

1864.  Of  other  promotions,  we  have  no  facts. 
Company  E  was  organizsd  with  the  follow- 
ing officer^:  .John  T.  Cox,  captain;  I.-a  A. 
Flood,  first  lieutenant;  and  Charles  Wil- 
lard,  second  lieutenant.  Captain  Cox  re- 
signed April  13,  1863,  and  Lieutenant  Flood 
was  promoted  to  the  vacancy,  and  on  the  15th 
of  June,  1865,  he  was  promoted  to  major, 
but   mustered    out    as    captain.       George   B. 


HISTORY  OF  CKAWl-oRl)  (OrXTV. 


103 


Sweet  beciime  secoml  lieutenant,  was  pro- 
moted to  first,  iind  then  to  captain,  but  mus- 
tered out  as  first  lieutenant.  John  Boes 
became  second  lieutenant,  and  was  pro- 
moted to  first  lieutenant,  and  mustered  out 
with  the  regiment.  Second  Lieutenant  Wil- 
lard  resigned  .March  20,  1863;  J.  W.  .fones 
was  promoted  to  second  lieutenaut,  but  mus- 
tered out  as   sergeant. 

The  Ninety-eighth  *  was  organized  at  Cen- 
tralia.  111.,  and  was  mustered  into  the  United 
States  service  September  3,  ISG'i,  and  on 
the  8th  it  started  for  Louisville,  Kv.,  then 
threatened  by  Gen.  Bragg.  It  was  embarked 
on  two  railroad  trains,  and  when  near  Bridge- 
port, 111.,  the  foremost  train  was  thrown  from 
the  track  by  a  displaced  switch  and  five  men 
killed,  among  whom  was  Captain  O.  L.  Kel- 
ly of  Company  K,  while  some  7-)  others  were 
injured,  several  of  whom  afterward  died. 
Arriving  at  Louisville,  it  was  brigaded  with 
the  Seventy-second  and  Seventy-fifth  In- 
diana Infantry,  and  the  Thirteenth  Indiana 
Battery,  Col.  A.  O.  Miller  of  the  Seventy- 
second  Indiana,  commanding.  The  regi- 
ment, witli  its  brigade,  served  in  Kentucky 
until  in  November,  when  it  marched  into 
Tennessee.  From  Gallatin  it  moved  to  Cas- 
tilian  Springs,  and  on  the  14th  of  Dec(>mber, 
to  Bledsoe  Creek.  December  2Gth  it  began 
the  march  northward  in  pursuit  of  Gen.  Mor- 
gan, arriving  at  Glasgow  on  the  31st;  and  on 
the  2d  of  January,  1863,  it  moved  to  Cave 
City,  and  from  thence  to  Nashville  on  thj 
5th;  then  to Murfreesboro  where,  on  the  l-tth, 
it  was  assigned  to  the  First  Brigade,  Fifth 
Division,  Fourteenth  Army  Corps.  On  the 
8th  of  March,  the  regiment  was  ordered  to  be 
mounted,  and  served  in   Tennessee  where  it 

*  The  sketch  of  the  Ninety-eighth  given  herewith 
is  oompileil  from  a  history  of  thj  regim 'nfc  written 
by  Adjutant  Aden  Knoph,  and  published  in  the  Ar- 
gus in  Septembsr,  1882. 


did  active  duty  in  scouting-  guarding  for- 
age trains,  etc.,  until  the  Chattanooga  cam- 
paign, in  which  it  participated.  On  the  20tii 
of  September,  at  Cliattanooga,  Col.  Funk- 
houser  of  the  Ninety-eighth,  was  severely 
wounded,  and  the  command  of  the  regiment 
devolved  on  Lieutenant-Colonel  Kitchell. 
The  regiment  lost  in  the  l)attle  five  men 
killed  and  thirty-six  woan:led.  It  continued 
to  operate  in  Tennessee,  engaged  in  scout- 
ing and  skirmishing,  until  the  campaign  in 
Georgia,  when  it  was  assigned  to  the  Second 
Cavalry  Division,  commanded  by  Gen.  Crook, 
and  took  an  active  part  at  Ringgold,  Buzzard 
Roost,  Dallas,  Marietta,  Rough-and-Ready, 
and  other  places  familiar  to  the  Army  of  the 
Cumberland,  the  Ohio,  and  Tennessee.  On 
the  1st  of  November,  1864,  the  Regiment 
turned  over  its  horses  and  equipments  to  Kil- 
patrick,  and  moved  via  Chattanooga  and 
Nashville  to  Louisville,  where  it  arrived  on 
the  16th,  and  lay  in  camp  for  some  time,  wait- 
ing to  be  equipped  anew.  Taking  the  war- 
path again,  it,  on  the  31st  of  December  moved 
to  Eiizidjethtown,  Ky.,  thence  to  Mumford- 
ville.  Bowling  Green,  and  finally  to  Nashville. 
,Tanu;ir\'  1"2,  1805.  the  command  moved  into 
Alabama,  remaining  at  Gravelly  Springs  un- 
til March  8th,  when  it  moved  to  Waterloo, 
and  on  the  31st,  to  Montevallo,  and  April  2d 
took  part  in  the  capture  of  Solma.  This  was 
the  last  severe  duty  of  the  Ninety-eighth,  as 
on  the  20th  of  April  they  were  detailed  as 
provost  guard  of  JIacon,  Ga.  May  22d  it 
started  for  Chattanooga,  and  from  thence  to 
Nashville,  where  it  arrived  on  the  loth,  and 
June  27,  1865,  it  was  mustered  out  of  the 
service  and  ordered  to  Springfield,  111.,  for 
final  discharge. 

The  One  Hundred  and  Thirty-fifth  Infantry, 
called  into  service  for  100  days,  had  one  com- 
pany recruited  mostly  in  Crawford  County. 
Company  11  was  commanded  bv  Capt.  James 
1>.  A^'icklin,  with  Philip  Brown    as   first  lieu 


104 


HISTORY  OF  (^RAWFOUU  lOU.NTY. 


tenant  and  A.  D.  Otey,  second  lieutenant. 
We  have  no  record  of  its  operations  during 
its  term  of  service. 

Tlie  One  Hundred  and  Fifty-second  In- 
fantry recruited  under  the  call  for  "  one  year 
service,"  contained  a  Crawford  County  com- 
pany. Company  H  veent  into  the  field  in 
charge  of  the  following  commissioned  officers: 
George  W.  Beam,  captain;  William  Dyer, 
first  lieutenant;  Ferdinand  Hughes,  second 
lieutenant. 

The  One  Hundred  and  Fifty-second  was 
recruited  for  one  year,  and  was  organized  at 
Camp  Butler,  Illinois,  February  18,  1865.  It 
went  to  Nashville,  and  thence  to  TuUahoma. 
It  was  mustered  out  of  the  service  September 
11,  1865,  at  Camp  Butler. 

The  One  Hundred  and  Fifty- fifth  Infantry 
drew  a  company  from  Crawford  County. 
Company  C  was  principally  from  this  county, 
and  had  the  following  commissioned  officers: 
John  W.  Lowber,  captain;  Ross  Neeley,  first 
lieutenant,  and  Marshall  C.  Wood,  second 
lieutenant. 

This  regiment  was  organized  at  Camp  But- 
ler, Illinois,  February  28,  18G5,  for  one  year. 
March  2d,  the  regiment,  904  strong,  proceeded 
via  Louisville  and  Nashville  to  Tullahoma, 
where  it  was  employed  mostly  in  guard  duty 
on  the  Nashville  &  Chattanooga  Railroad. 
September  4,  1865,  it  was  mustered  out  of 
the  service  at  Camp  Butler  and  discharged. 

The  Fifth  Illinois  Cavalry  contained  a 
Crawford  County  company  of  men.  Com- 
pany F  was  principally  from  this  county,  and 
was  officered  as  follows:  Horace  P.  Mum- 
ford,  captain;  Francis  M.  Doroth}',  first  lieu- 
tenant, and  Wm.  Wagenseller,  second  lieu- 
tenant. Capt.  Mumford  was  promoted  to 
major  of  the  regiment  May  24,  1803,  and  died 
October  26,  1864,  at  Springfield,  111.  Lieut. 
Dorothy  resigned  January  10,  1863;  Lieut. 
Wagenseller  was  promoted  to  first  lieutenant 
January    10,   1863,  and  to  captain  May   24, 


1863,  and  then  resigned.  Thos.  J.  Dean  be- 
came second  lieutenant,  was  promoted  to  first 
lieutenant  May  24,  1863,   to  captain  July  5, 

1864,  and  died  on  the  20th  of  September  fol- 
lowing. James  H.  Wood  became  second 
lieutenant  May  34,  1863,  was  promoted  to 
first  lieutenant  July  5,  1864,  to  captain  Sep- 
tember 20,  1864,  and  was  mustered  out  with 
the  regiment  at  the  close  of  the  war.  Edwin 
P.  Martin  was  promoted  to  second  lieutenant, 
then  became  adjutant  and  alterward  resigned. 
Jacob  Stifal  was  made  first  lieutenant,  and 
remained  in  the  service  until  the  muster  out 
of  the  regiment;  James  G.  Bennett  was  pro- 
moted to  second  lieutenant  October  26,  1865, 
but  mustered  out  as  sergeant. 

Of  the  field  and  staff,  Major  Mumford, 
Adjutant  Martin,  Quartermaster  Robert  C. 
Wilson,  and  Surgeon  Wm.  Watts,  were 
Crawford  County  men.  Adjutant  Martin  re- 
signed. Quartermaster  Wilson  was  mustered 
out  of  the  service.  Dr.  Watts  entered  as 
assistant  surgeon,  was  promoted  to  surgeon, 
and  was  mustered  out  October  27,  1865,  with 
the  regiment. 

Maj.  Mumford  died  in  the  latter  part  of 
1664.  The  following  tribute  to  his  gallantry 
as  a  soldier  and  officer,  was  paid  him  by  Gen. 
Dennis,  in  a  letter  to  Hon.  Jesse  K.  Dubois: 
''  This  will  be  handed  you  by  Maj.  Mumford, 
Fifth  Illinois  Cavalry  Volunteers.  The  Major 
has  been  in  my  command  for  the  last  four 
months,  and  the  greater  portion  in  command 
of  his  regiment.  In  the  expedition  from 
Vicksburg,  the  Major  had  command  of  the 
entire  cavalry  forces,  composed  of  parts  of 
four  regiments.  When  I  say  that  he  handled 
his  command  as  well,  and  did  better  fighting 
than  any  cavalry  officer  I  have  met  with  in 
Mississippi,  it  will  be  indorsed  by  all  the  old 
officers  who  were  with  the  late  raids.  Maj.- 
Gen.  Slocum  was  so  well  please  i  and  satis- 
fied with  him  and  the  good  discipline  of  his 
men,  that  he  continued  him  in  coniuiand,  noi 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


105 


withstanding  his  supoiiois  were  present  with 
the  expedition." 

The  Fifth  Cavalry  was  organized  at  Camp 
ButU;r  in  November,  1861,  witli  Hall  Wilson, 
colonel.  It  served  in  Missouri  and  Arkansas 
until  the  SOth  of  May,  1803,  when  it  embarked 
for  Vicksburg.  xVfter  the  fall  of  that  rebel 
stronghold,  it  accompanied  Gen.  Sherman's 
army  toward  Jackson,  and  was  engaged  in 
several  skirmishes  with  the  enemy  in  which  it 
sustained  some  loss.  It  was  on  active  duty  in 
Mississippi  until  January  1, 1864,  when  many 
of  its  men  re-enlisted  as  veterans,  and  on  the 
17th  of  March,  the  veterans  were  furlougliod. 
May  27th,  Col.  McConnell  took  command, 
when  eight  companies  were  dismounted,  and 
Companies  A,  B,  C  and  D,  were  fully  armed 
and  equipped.  This  battalion  of  cavalry  con- 
tinued to  serve  in  Mississippi,  and  was  actively 
engaged  most  of  the  time  in  raiding  and 
scouting.  January  24,  1865,  the  battalion 
moved  to  Memphis,  and  thence  on  an  expedi- 
tion to  Southern  Arkansas  and  Louisiana,  re- 
turning February  13th.  On  the  1st  of  .luly, 
it  was  ordered  to  Texas.  It  served  in  Texas 
until  October  6th,  when  it  was  sent  home  to 
Springfield,  111.,  and  on  the  27th,  was  mus- 
tered out  of  the  service,  paid  off  and  dis- 
charged. 

This  completes  the  sketch  of  Illinois  regi- 
ments in  which  Crawford  County  was  repre- 
sented. Many  men,  however,  enlisted  in 
other  States,  particularly  in  Missouri  and  In- 
diana. Several  Missouri  regiments  contained 
a  large  number  of  Crawford  County  men,  but 
how  many,  we  have  no  accurate  means  of 
knowing. 

During  the  four  years  of  the  war,  the  county 
kept  up  her  enlistments,  equal  to  almost  any 
other  county  in  the  State.  There  was  but 
one  draft,  and  that  vcas  for  a  few  men  only. 
The  deficiency  was  thus  apportioned  among 
the  different  precincts:  Hutsonville,  10; 
Robinson,  5;    Watts,  19;    Licking,  16;    Mar- 


tin, none;  Franklin,  33;  Embarras,  11;  North- 
west, 8;  Montgomery,  21;  01>long,  0;  Pales- 
tine, 14,  and  Southwest,  3.  Buforo  the  date 
fixed  for  the  draft,  some  of  the  precincts  had 
filled  their  quotas,  and  others  had  decreased 
the  deficiency,  so  that  when  it  actually  took 
place,  it  was  as  follows:  Franklin,  16;  Watts, 
8;  Licking,  8;  Hutsonville,  1;  Oblong,  3; 
Northwest,  4;  Montgomery,  10;  with  a  like 
number  of  "  reserves  "  from  each  of  the  drafted 
precincts.  The  Argus  published  the  following, 
as  the  full  quota  of  the  county  by  precincts,  un- 
der the]  different  calls,  including  the  last  two 
in  1864,  whicli  two  alone  aggregated  500,000 
men:  Hutsonville,  quota  176 — credit,  166; 
Robinson,  quota  198 — credit,  193;  Watts, 
quota,  67 — credit,  48;  Licking,  quota  72 — ■ 
credit,  56;  Martin,  quota  69 — credit,  69; 
Franklin,  quota  144 — credit.  111;  Embarras, 
quota  55 — credit,  44;  Northwest,  quota  59 — 
credit,  51;  Montgomery,  quota  86 — credit,  65; 
Oblong,  quota  55 — credit,  49;  Palestine,  quota 
148  — credit,  133;  Southwest,  quota  20  — 
credit,  17;  total  quota,  1,149;  total  credits, 
1,'  03;  deficiency,  146.  Another  draft  was 
ordered  later  on,  to  fill  up  the  quota  on  a  last 
call,  but  before  the  appointed  day  came,  more 
welcome  nev\-s  was  flashed  over  the  wires,  viz.: 
the  fall  of  Richmond,  the  surrender  of  Gon. 
Lee,  and  the  armies  of  the  Confederacy.  The 
draft  was  declared  "  off;"  the  war  was  over, 
the  country  was  saved,  and  the  troops  were 
coming  home.  The  saddest  part  of  the  home- 
coming, was  in  the  many  vacancies  in  the 
broken  ranks — the  absence  of  "  those  who 
came  not  back."  A  little  poem  dedicated  to 
the  "Illinois  dead,"  and  published  in  the 
initiatory  number  of  the  Arffun,  is  appropriate: 

"  Oh,  sing  the  funeral  roundelay, 
Let  warmest  tears  be  shed, 
And  rear  the  mighty  mouumenta 
For  the  Illinois  dead. 

"  On  many  a  field  of  victory 
Tliey  slumber  in  th';'ir  gore, 


106 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


They  rest  beneath  the  shining  sands 
On  ocean's  soundmg  shore. 

"  Where  from  Virginia's  mountain  chains, 
By  Rappahannock's  side, 
Upon  the  Heights  of  Maryland 
Her  gallant  sons  have  died. 

"  The  broken  woods  of  Tennessee, 
Are  hallowed  by  their  blood. 
It  consecrates  Missouri's  plains, 
And  Mississippi's  flood, 

"  Kentucky's  '  dark  and  bloody  ground, 
Is  furrowed  by  theu-  graves; 
They  sleep  in  Alabama's  soil, 
By  Pamlico's  dark  waves. 

"  And  Mississippi's  poison  swamps, 
Arkansas  river  ways, 
And  Pennsylvania's  pleasant  towns 
Attest  our  heroes  praise. 

"They  saw  them  in  the  ranks  of  war, 
Oh.  memory  dark  with  woe! 
They  saw  them  yield  to  death,  who  ne'er 
Had  yielded  to  the  foe. 

"  Then  weave  the  chaplets  fair  and  well 
To  grace  each  noble  name. 
That  grateful  llhuois  writes 
Upon  the  scroll  of  fame. 

'  Her  sons  have  led  the  battle's  van. 
Where  many  fought  and  fell, 
With  all  the  noble  Gracchi's  zeal. 
The  hero  faith  of  Tell." 

We  can  not  close  this  chapter  more  appropri- 
ately, than  to  devote  a  few  words  to  the  noble 
women  of  the  land,  whose  zeal  and  patriotism 
were  as  strong  as  those  who  bore  the  brunt 
of  the  battle.  They  could  not  shoulder  their 
guns  and  march  in  the  ranks,  but  they  w  >re 
not  idle  spectators  of  the  struggle.  How 
often  was  the  soldier's  heart  encouraged;  how 
often  his  right  arm  made  stronger  to  strike  for 
freedom  by  the  cheering  words  of  patriotic, 
hopeful  women!  And  how  often  the  poor  lad 
whom  disease  had  fastened,  was  made  to  tliank 
devoted  women   for  their  ceaseless   and  un- 


wearied exertions  in  collecting  and  sending 
stores  for  the  comfort  of  the  sick  and  wounded. 
We  may  boast  of  the  fame  and  prowess  of  a 
Grant,  a  Sherman,  a  Lee,  a  Sheridan,  but  the 
devotion  of  those  noblewomen  surpasses  tiiem 
all,  and  truly,  the  world  sustains  its  heaviest 
loss  when  such  spirits  fall.  A  war  correspond- 
ent paid  them  the  following  merited  tribute: 
"While  soldiers  of  every  grade  and  color  are 
receiving  eulogies  and  encomiums  of  a  grate- 
ful people,  patient,  forbearing  w^oman  is  for- 
gotten. The  scar-worn  veteran  is  welcomed 
with  honor  to  home.  The  recruit,  the  colored 
soldier,  and  even  the  hundred  days'  men  re- 
ceive the  plaudits  of  the  nation.  But  not  one 
word  is  said  of  that  patriotic,  widowed  mother, 
who  sent  with  a  mother's  blessing  on  his  head, 
her  only  son,  the  staff  and  support  of  her  de- 
clining years,  to  battle  for  his  country.  The 
press  says  not  one  word  of  the  patriotism,  the 
sacrifices  of  the  wife,  sister  or  daughter,  who 
with  streaming  eyes,  and  almost  broken  heart, 
said  to  husbands,  brothers,  fathers,  "  much  as 
we  love  you,  we  can  not  bid  you  stay  with  us 
when  our  country  needs  yon;  nay,  we  bid  you 
go,  and  wipe  out  the  insult  offered  the  star- 
spangled  banner,  and  preserve  unsullied  this 
union  of  States." 

Brave  and  noble,  self-sacrificing  women! 
your  deeds  deserve  to  be  written  in  letters  of 
shining  gold.  Love  and  devotion  to  the  un- 
fortunate and  heart-felt  pity  for  the  woes  of 
suffering  humanity  are  among  your  brightest 
characteristics.  Your  kindly  smiles  of  sym- 
pathy break  through  the  clouds  of  misfortune, 
and  your  gentlest  tones  are  breathed  amid 
the  sighs  of  suffering  and  sorrow.  Your 
o-entle  ministrations  to  the  war-worn  soldiers, 
in  humble  imitation  of  Him  who  taught  the 
sublime  lesson  about  the  cup  of  cold  water  to 
the  little  one,  will  live  as  long  as  the  trials 
and  hardships  of  the  war  are  remembered, 
and  that  will  be  glory  enough. 


CHAPTEE    X. 


ROBINSON  TOWNSHIP-DESCRIPTION  AND  TOPOGRAPHY-GENERAL  CHARACTER  OF  THE 

COUNTRY-LAND  ENTRIES-ADVENT  OF  THE  WHITES-TIME  AND  PLACE  OF 

SETTLEMENT-EARLY  SOCIETY-THE  BEGINNING  OF  AGRICULTURE 

—PIONEER  INDUSTRIES  AND  IMPROVEMENTS— EARLY 

MARKETS,  ETC.,  ETC.  . 


"And  nature  glarlly  gave  them  place. 
Adopted  them  into  her  race." — Emerson. 

nOUTHERN  Illinois  is  an  offspring  of  the 
O  "South."  Freed  from  British  control  in 
177S  by  a  son  of  Virginia,  and  passing  its  early 
existence  under  the  colonial  regime  as  the 
county  Illinois  of  the  State  of  Virginia,  its 
first  American  settlements  were  founded  by 
emigrants  from  County  Kentucky,  and  the 
parent  State.  Later,  as  the  territorial  posses- 
sion of  the  general  government,  the  story  of 
its  beautiful  plains,  its  stately  woods  and  its 
navigable  rivers,  spread  to  the  contiguous 
States  of  North  Carolina  and  Tennessee,  and 
brought  from  thence  a  vast  influ.x:  of  popula- 
tion. The  early  tide  of  emigration  set 
toward  the  region  marked  by  the  old  French 
settlements,  and  reaching  out  from  this  point 
followed  the  course  of  the  rivers  which  drew 
their  sources  from  the  northern  interior. 
Thus  for  some  thirty  j-ears  the  eastern  side  of 
this  fair  country  was  almost  ignored,  but  the 
military  activities  involved  in  the  war  of  1813 
brought  many  of  the  hardy  citizens  of  the 
south  in  actual  contact  with  the  beauties  of 
the  "  Wabash  country,"  and  the  years  of 
1S14-15  witnessed  a  concourse  of  clamorous 
immigrants  held  in  abeyance  upon  the  bor- 
der only  b}'  the  slow  pacification  of  the  Indi- 
ans who  had  engaged  in  the  war  on  the  side 
of  the   British.      Here   and  there,  one   more 

•By  .1.  H.  Battle. 


bold  than  the  rest,  reared  his  rude  tabernacle 
upon  this  debatable  ground  and  occasion- 
ally paid  the  forfeiture  of  his  life  for  his 
temerity.  But  the  barrier  once  removed,  the 
swollen  tide  spread  rapidly  over  the  coveted 
land,  and  up  sprang  as  though  by  magic,  the 
log  cabins,  the  teeming  harvests,  the  mill,  the 
church,  the  school-house,  and  all  the  "  busy 
hum  "  of  pioneer  activity.  Such  in  brief  is 
the  history  of  Crawford  County. 

The  division  of  the  County  to  which  our 
attention  is  now  directed,  is  the  outgrowth  of  a 
later  development.  As  settlements  increased, 
precincts  were  formed  which  were  after- 
ward subdivided,  and  in  1868  the  present 
township  organization  was  effected.  Under 
the  original  division  this  township  formed  the 
central  part  of  LaMotte  Precinct,  and  on  the 
removal  of  the  county  seat  from  Palestine, 
this  became  Robinson  Precinct,  in  honor  of  .f. 
M.  Robinson,  a  leading  attorney  and  promi- 
nent citizen  of  Carmi.  The  township  thus 
designated  includes  thirty  sections  of  town  7 
north,  range  12  west,  of  the  government  sur- 
vey, eighteen  sections  of  town  6  north,  same 
range,  sections  1,  13,  and  13  of  town  0  north, 
range  13  west,  and  sections  12,  13,  24,  25  and 
36,  of  town  7  north,  same  range,  a  total  of 
fifty-six  sections.  The  original  character  of 
the  country  included  within  these  limits  was 
part,"  barrens"  and  part  true  prairie.  These 
were  irregularly  distributed,  the  latter  gener- 
ally proving  to  be  low  levels   when   the   con- 


108 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


centrated  moisture  prevented  the  growth  of 
the  timber  of  this  region.  The  whole  surface, 
however,  was  such  as  to  afford  but  little  ob- 
stacle to  the  progress  of  the  regular  fall  fires, 
and  only  here  and  there  a  good  sized  tree 
stood  out  upon  the  blackened  plain  as  evi- 
dence that  the  whole  land  had  not  been  van- 
quished by  the  fiery  onslaught.  But  the  first 
settlers  found  further  evidence  of  the  char- 
acter of  the  land,  in  the  roots  or  "grubs" 
•which  still  remained  in  the  ground,  and  it 
seemed  an  aggravation  of  the  usual  hardships 
of  pioneer  experience  that  the  condition  of 
the  prairie  land  forced  the  new-comer  to  se- 
lect the  poorer  land.  The' natural  drainage 
of  the  township  is  toward  the  east,  south  and 
■west  from  the  central  part.  Sugar  Creek 
received  two  small  affluents  from  the  western 
side;  Honey  Creek  takes  its  rise  a  short  dis- 
tance to  the  south  of  the  village,  and  an  arm 
of  Big  Creek  drains  the  eastern  side.  The 
soil  is  a  strong  yellow  clay,  which  has  been 
the  chief  resource  of  the  community  settled 
here.  Since  the  early  years  of  the  settlement 
but  little  attention  has  been  paid  to  stock 
raising,  save  perhaps  in  the  case  of  hogs,  and 
a  system  of  mixed  husbandry  in  which  the 
cultivation  of  corn  and  wheat  has  been  prom- 
inent, has  prevailed. 

The  settlement  of  Robinson  township  was 
not  the  result  of  that  orderly  succession  of 
immigrants  often  observed,  but  checked  at 
the  Palestine  fort,  for  a  year  or  two  the  immi- 
gration gathered  such  members  that  when 
once  the  fear  of  Indian  hostility  was  removed, 
the  cooped- up  settlers  spread  simultaneously 
in  all  parts  of  the  country.  A  list  of  the  early 
entries  of  land  will  give  some  notion  of  the 
early  comers  to  the  country  and  their  choice 
of  lands,  though  they  did  not  all  settle  upon 
the  lands  they  entered.  The  entries  in  town 
7  north,  range  12  west,  were  on  section  9, 
Jesse  Page  and  Harmon  Gregg,  in  1817;  on 
sect;on  10,  James   Newlin  and  John  Hill,  in 


1818;  on  section  11,  Thomas  Newlin,  Thomas 
Young  and  Nathan  Mars,  in  1818;  on  section 
12,  Joshua  Barbee,  in   1818,  and  Enoch  Wil- 
hoit  in  1820;  on  section   13,  William  Dunlap 
and  William  Everman,  in  1818;  on  section  15, 
James  J.    Nelson,    in   1818;    on  section    17, 
Armstead  Bennett,  in    1818;  on   section    22, 
W.  T.  Barry,  in  1818,  and  in  the  previous  year 
on   section  27;  on  section  23,  Wilson  Lagow, 
in   1817,  and   WilHam   Nelson,  in   1818;  on 
section   24,  William    Mitchell,    in    1818,  and 
William  Barbee  in  1817;  on  section  25,  John 
Mars   and   William    Mitchell,  in     1817.     In 
town    6    north,  range   13  west,  entries    were 
made  by  Charles  Dawson,  in  1818,  and  Jona- 
than and  John  Wood,  in  1819,  on  section  1; 
and    by  Richard    Easton,  on    section    3,    in 
1818.       In   town    7    north,  range  13  west,  on 
section    11,  Wilson    Lagow    made     entry   in 
1817,  and   Ithra  Brashears,  in  1818;  on   sec- 
tion 12,  Lagow  made  an  entry  in  1817,  and  in 
the  following  year,  Lewis  Little  and  Barnett 
Starr,  made   entries  of  land.       A  number    of 
these  entries  were  made  for  speculative  pur- 
poses; other  entries  were  subsequently  relin- 
quished for  a  consideration  or  of  necessity,  and 
a  number  of   persons  came  here    who  stayed 
for   a   few   years   and    moved    away    without 
making  any  attempt  to  secure  a  title  to  land 
or   staying   here    permanently,  entered   land 
much    later,  so   that  so    far    as    forming  any 
judgment  of  the  actual  settlement  of  Robin- 
son, these  entries  afford  but  little  data. 

Among  the  earliest  of  the  settlers  in  this 
township  was  the  Newlin  family.  The  flat- 
tering reports  of  the  character  of  the  Wabash 
Valley  had  reached  North  Carolina,  and 
leaving  his  native  State,  Nathaniel  Newlin 
went  to  Tennessee,  where  his  brothers,  John 
and  Eli,  had  settled,  to  urge  them  toward 
the  new  land  of  promise.  He  was  so  success- 
ful that  in  1817  the  three  brothers  moved  to 
the  "Beech  Woods"  in  Indiana.  Nathaniel 
was  not   then   married,    but  the  trip  to   this 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


109 


region  satisfied  him  that  this  was  the  country 
to  live  in,  and  in  the  fall  he  returned  to  brinor 
out  his  father,  John  Newlin,  Sr.  In  the  fol- 
lowing spring  he  returned  to  the  valley,  but 
his  brother  not  liking  their  location,  he  de- 
termined to  try  the  west  side  of  the  river,  and 
eventually  fixed  upon  a  site  on  section  10, 
towi'  7  north,  13  west.  In  the  same  spring, 
the  boys,  John  and  Eli,  left  their  place  on  the 
Indiana  side  and  came  to  Robinson.  When 
the  older  Newlin  came,  his  son  Thomas  was 
prepared  to  move  at  the  same  time,  but  his 
wife  being  sick  he  was  obliged  to  remain. 
Durinsr  the  summer  Nathaniel  returned  to 
North  Carolina,  married  a  lady  and  assisted 
his  brother,  Thomas,  to  get  his  goods  togeth- 
er for  removal.  The  latter's  wife  had  so  far 
recovered  as  to  attempt  the  journey.  The 
family  consisted  of  the  sick  wife,  his  sister, 
and  five  children,  with  Nathaniel  and  his 
bride.  With  these  stowed  away  in  such  space 
as  the  household  effects  left  in  a  large  Vir- 
ginia land  schooner,  the  journey  was  begun, 
the  men  walking  most  of  the  way  or  riding  a 
spare  horse  which  was  the  marriage  portion 
of  the  bride.  Quite  a  number  of  families 
started  in  company  for  the  new  country,  con- 
tinuing together  across  a  corner  of  Virginia 
to  Crab  Orchard,  Kentucky,  where  the  rest 
took  the  right  hand  road  which  led  toward 
Indiana,  thus  parting  company.  While  pass- 
ing through  Virginia,  Mrs.  Newlin  grew 
worse,  and  finally  died,  the  sorrowing  family 
being  compelled  to  bury  her  there  among 
strangers.  On  reaching  this  country,  they 
found  shelter  in  the  cabin  of  John  Newlin, 
Sr.,  who  very  soon  afterward  took  up  his 
home  in  a  new  but  smaller  cabin  which  was 
at  once  constructed. 

In  1817,  Thomas  Young,  William  Barbee 
and  Nathan  Mars,  came  to  this  country  to 
prospect  for  a  home.  The  other  two  men 
had  married  sisters  of  Barbee,  and  in  the  fol- 
lowing  year   they    all    returned   with    their 


families,  Barbee  settling  on  section  25,  Mars 
and  Young  on  section  11.  On  their  return 
in  1818,  from  their  native  State  of  Kentucky, 
they  were  accompanied  by  the  family  of  John 
Wright,  \sho  was  also  a  brother-in-law  of 
Barbee.  Jesse  Page,  a  native  of  Kentucky, 
came  here  in  1817,  entered  land  on  the 
fractional  quarter  on  the  southeast  of  section 
9,  and  in  the  following  spring  brought  his 
family  to  a  farm,  whence  he  moved  to  Clark 
County  in  1834.  Harrison  Gregg  came  here 
in  the  same  spring,  a  young  married  man  with 
wife  and  two  children,  but  left  this  country 
for  Texas  some  years  later.  Joshua  Barbee, 
a  brother  of  William,  came  in  the  spring  of 
1818  from  Kentucky,  but  left  for  the  Lost 
River  country  a  few  years  later.  William 
Everman  came  about  the  same  time  from  the 
same  State,  and  located  on  section  13.  Arm- 
stead  and  Steven  Bennett  came  from  Ken- 
tucky in  1818,  and  located  on  section  13. 
This  family  were  in  comfortable  financial  cir- 
cumstances, and  improved  a  good  farm,  but 
subsequently  left  for  Texas,  selling  out  to 
Guy  Smith.  William  Mitchel  was  a  young 
unmarried  man,  a  new  emigrant  from  Eng- 
land. He  entered  land  as  early  as  1817,  and 
perhaps  was  the  first  actual  settler  in  Robin- 
son township.  After  maintaining  bachelor's 
hall  for  a  number  of  years,  he  married  Sarah 
Newlin,  and  lived  on  his  place  until  the  day 
of  his  death.  Enoch  Wilhoit  was  an  immi- 
grant of  1820,  coming  from  Kentucky,  and 
settling  on  section  12. 

The  "  entry  book "  indicates  an  interval 
of  a  number  of  years  between  the  coming  of 
Wilhoit  and  the  next  entr}',  and  it  is  probable 
that  there  were  few  permanent  accessions  to 
the  community  planted  here  before  1830. 
Under  the  peculiar  condition  of  affairs  in  a 
new  country  it  was  frequently  the  case,  that 
people  in  search  of  a  new  home  would  come 
to  this  section,  build  a  cabin,  raise  one  crop 
and  then  move  to  some  locality  which  prom- 


110 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


ised  better  results.  This  was  true  to  some 
extent  in  this  township,  and  later  comers 
found  no  ditHculty  in  securing  a  cabin  fitted 
at  least  for  a  temporary  abode.  Of  this  later 
accession  John  Nichols  was  an  early  settler. 
He  came  from  Virginia  about  1830,  settling 
upon  property  which  stiil  remains  in  posses- 
sion of  the  family.  John  Gwin  a  son-in-law 
of  Nichols,  was  another  incomer  of  this  time, 
and  located  about  a  mile  and  a  half  north  of 
town.  John  Cable  came  here  about  this  time 
and  purchased  considerable  land  about  the 
site  of  the  village.  His  cabin  was  erected 
on  what  is  now  known  as  the  Dunham  place. 
He  was  a  man  of  good  education  for  the  time 
and  had  formerly  engaged  in  teaching.  An 
active,  intelligent  farmer,  the  prospect  of  im- 
proving a  large  farm  and  securing  a  fine  com- 
petency seemed  bright  before  him,  when  the 
death  of  his  wife,  leaving  four  little  children 
to  his  care,  dashed  his  hopes  in  this  direction. 
He  at  once  sold  his  property,  and  moving  in- 
to Indiana  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits, 
subsequently  acquiring  considerable  wealth, 
and  rearing  his  children  without  the  aid  of  a 
second  wile. 

His  old  cabin  still  does  duty  as  a  stable  for 
Samuel  Maginnis.  In  18.33  F.  M.  Brown 
came  to  the  east  side  of  the  village  and  en- 
tered 160  acres  of  land.  He  was  a  native  of 
Virginia,  from  whence  he  had  gone  to  Gar- 
rard County,  Kentucky,  thence  to  Indiana, 
and  finally  to  Illinois.  Nicholas  Smith,  a 
family  connection  of  Brown's,  had  settled 
here,  and  it  was  through  the  representations 
of  the  former  that  Brown  came  here.  The 
journey  was  made  in  a  big  schooner  wagon 
drawn  by  two  yoke  of  oxen.  In  this  was  be- 
stowed the  household  effects,  the  wife,  and  so 
many  of  the  eight  children  as  could  not  make 
part  of  the  way  on  foot.  Two  cows  and  a  mare 
and  colt  completed  his  whole  worldly  posses- 
sion, aside  from  the  entry  price  of  his  land. 
On  arriving  here,  the  family  found  shelter  in 


a  deserted  cabin  built  by  William  Patton, 
on  the  site  of  the  old  brick-yard.  Brown's 
land  lay  just  beyond  the  limits  of  the  present 
village,  to  the  northeast,  and  when  the  ques- 
tion of  erecting  a  cabin  on  this  property 
came,  there  was  a  division  of  opinion.  The 
head  of  the  family  had  chosen  as  the  pro- 
posed site,  a  pleasant  grove  situated  on  a 
little  knoll  just  east  of  the  village,  but  Mrs. 
Brown,  always  accustomed  to  wooded  coun- 
try, feared  such  an  exposed  situation,  and  de- 
sired the  cabin  built  on  lower  ground  in  the 
edge  of  the  timber.  It  was  finally  left  to  a 
vote  of  the  children,  who,  sharing  the  preju- 
dices of  their  mother,  decided  in  favor  of  the 
low  land  and  timber.  In  1833  John  Blank- 
enship  came  to  the  central  part  of  this  town- 
ship. He  was  an  old  soldier  of  the  war  of 
1812,  as  Brown  had  been,  and  the  two  had 
campaigned  together.  It  was  through  the 
influence  of  Brown  that  he  came  here.  He 
built  a  cabin  where  Aldrich  Waters  now 
lives,  the  first  residence  on  what  is  now  the 
village  of  Robinson.  He  made  no  entry  or 
purchase  of  land  here,  and  subsequently 
moved  elsewhere. 

Succeeding  the  accessions  of  this  period 
another  interval  of  some  eighteen  years 
occurred  in  which  there  were  few  or  no  addi- 
tions to  the  settlement  in  this  township.  The 
removal  of  the  county  seat,  and  the  laying 
out  of  Robinson  village,  however,  changed 
this  apathy  into  a  vigorous  activity,  though 
the  immediate  effect  was  more  apparent  in 
the  history  of  the  village  than  in  the  surround- 
ing country,  where  the  last  of  the  public  lands 
were  not  taken  up  until  about  1851  or  later. 

There  was  much  to  remind  the  first  settlers 
that  this  was  a  frontier  country.  Following 
close  upon  the  cessation  of  Indian  hostilities, 
they  found  the  natives  in  undisturbed  pos- 
session of  the  hunting  grounds  they  had  fre- 
cpiented  from  time  out  of  mind;  to  the  north 
for    miles    there    was  but  here  and  there  an 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


Ill 


isolated  cabin,  while  the  nearest  village  was 
thirty  miles  to  the  southeast.  A  well  traveled 
trail  led  up  from  Vincetines,  through  Pales- 
tine to  Vandalia,  and  later  a  mail  route  was 
marked  by  a  bridle  path  from  Palestine 
through  the  central  part  of  Robinson.  The 
whole  country,  however,  was  open  to  travel, 
xliere  was  but  little  to  obstruct  the  way,  or 
even  the  view.  Doer  could  be  seen  as  far  as 
the  eye  would  reach,  and  travelers  found  it 
necessary  only  to  avoid  the  low  prairie  land 
which  throughout  the  summer  was  so  wet  as 
to  allow  a  horse  to  mire  to  the  hock-joint. 
These  lands  have  since  proven  the  best  farm- 
ing property  in  the  country,  but  were  orig- 
inally so  wet  as  to  be  entered  only  as  a  last 
resort.  The  settler  once  here,  the  neighbor- 
hood which  extended  for  miles  about,  was 
summoned  and  a  cabin  raised.  Here  there 
was  no  dearth  of  assistance,  but  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  county,  early  settlers  were  occa- 
sionally obliged  to  build  a  three-sided  shelter 
until  enough  men  came  in  to  build  a  cabin. 
The  difficult  method  of  transportation  pre- 
vented the  bringing  of  any  great  amount  of 
furniture.  Beside  the  family,  the  wagon  load 
consisted  of  provisions,  bedding,  a  few  hand 
tools,  and  perhaps  a  chair  or  two.  The  New- 
lins  brought  in  three  chairs  strapped  on  the 
feed-box,  and  the  first  care  of  Thomas  was  to 
go  to  Vincennes  where  he  purchased  a  barrel 
of  salt  for  eighteen  dollars,  some  blacksmith 
tools  and  a  cow  and  calf. 

The  home  once  secured,  attention  was  then 
turned  to  the  preparation  of  a  crop  for  the 
next  season's  support,  "  Clearing  "  did  not 
form  an  onerous  part  in  the  first  work  of  the 
farm.  Tlie  principal  growth  was  brush, 
which  necessitated  a  good  deal  of  pains-taking 
"  grubbing,"  and  then  the  firm  sod  was 
turned  by  the  plow.  The  first  of  these  im- 
plements in  use  here,  was  the  Gary  plow  with 
a  mold  board,  part  wood  and  part  iron,  hewed 
out  of  beech  or  maple,    which    necessitated    a 


stop  once  in  about  twenty  rods,  to  clean  with 
a  woodeti  jiaddle  carried  for  that  purpose. 
These  were  succeeded  by  the  Diamond  plow, 
manufactured  principally  at  the  country 
blacksmith's.  Their  construction  involved  an 
oblong  piece  of  steel,  13  by  10  inches,  which 
was  cut  into  a  rude  diamond  shape,  bent  to 
serve  as  a  plowshare  and  point,  and  welded 
to  an  iron  beam.  This  was  a  considerable 
improvement  upon  its  predecessor,  and  the 
two  forms  sufficed  for  years.  The  first  crop 
of  corn  was  very  often  planted  in  gashes  made 
in  the  sod  by  an  ax.  From  such  rude  hus- 
bandry an  abundant  harvest  was  received, 
amply  sufficient  at  least  for  the  support  of  the 
family  and  such  stock  as  needed  feeding 
grain.  Thomas  Newlin  was  a  blacksmith  by 
trade,  and  set  up  his  forge  very  soon  after  his 
arrival.  This  shop  was  a  valuable  acquisition 
to  this  community,  and  was  the  only  one  for 
miles  about.  Here  almost  everything  a  farmer 
needed  of  iron  was  made:  plows  made  and 
sharpened,  hand  tools  and  kitchen  utensils. 
An  important  resource  of  the  early  com- 
munity, and  one,  in  fact,  without  which  the 
settlement  of  this  country  must  have  been 
greatly  hindered,  was  the  game  that  found 
food  and  shelter  here.  Deer  were  found  in 
almost  countless  numbers,  and  in  some  sea- 
sons of  the  year  as  many  as  fifty  or  seventy- 
five  have  been  counted  in  a  single  herd. 
The  settlers  who  came  here  were  not  born 
hunters,  and  most  of  them  had  to  learn  to 
shoot  deer,  though  fair  marksmen  at  other 
game.  One  of  the  noted  hunters  of  this  re- 
gion said  he  missed  at  least  one  hundred  of 
those  animals  before  he  ever  hit  one.  Hun- 
dreds of  them  were  killed,  and  so  unequal 
was  the  supply  and  demand  of  venison  that 
it  was  years  before  a  deer  with  the  hide 
would  bring  fifty  cents.  When  the  village 
growth  of  the  county  became  such  that  they 
could  be  disposed  of  at  this  price  considerable 
numbers  were  brought  in,  and  the  money  thus 


112 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUICTY. 


acquired  saved  for  taxes.     It  is  related  on  one 
occasion  a  settler  shot  a  fine  deer,  dressed   it, 
and  took  the  two  hind  quarters  to   Palestine 
to  dispose  of.     He  met  a  man  newly  arrived 
in  the  village   and   when   asked  the   price   of 
them,  the  hunter  put  a  big  price   upon  them, 
charging    fifty   cents  apiece,   but  to  his  utter 
astonishment  the  stranger  took  both  quarters 
and  paid  down  the  cash   without  a  question. 
Much  as  he  needed  the  monej',  the  settler  has 
never    been    quite   sure   to  this  day  that  the 
stranger  was  compos  mentis,   or  tiiat   he   did 
not  overreach  his  immature  experience.     Oc- 
casionally a  deer  would  turn  upon  his  antag- 
onist and  give  the  sport  a  zest  which  did  not 
lessen    the    attraction    to    the    frontiersman. 
One  of  the  Newlins  out  in  quest  of  deer,  got 
a  shot  at  a  fine  buck  and  dropped  him  to  the 
ground.     Supposing  he  had  killed  the  animal 
instantly,   he  approached    without  observing 
the  precaution  of  loading  his  rifle.     He   had 
his  ax  in  hand,  and  just  before  reaching  the 
animal,  the  buck,  which  he  had  only  "  creased," 
sprang   to   its    feet   and     made     a    desperate 
charge   upon  the  hunter.     Seizing   his  ax   in 
his  right  hand,  he  warded  off  the    horns  with 
his  left  and  aimed  a   blow   with   his   weapon, 
but   only   succeeded  in   avoiding  the   antlers 
of  the  infuriated  animal  to  be  knocked  down 
by  its  shoulder.     A  second  charge    followed 
which   resulted   only   in    Newlin    giving    the 
animal    a    wound    but    being   again  knocked 
down.     A  third  charge  resulted  in  both   fall- 
ing together,  the  animal  on    top,    but   stimu- 
lated by  the  exigencies  of  the  circumstances, 
the  hunter  got  to  his  feet  first  and  by  a   well 
directed  blow  of  the  ax  swung  in  both  hands, 
crushed  in  the  forehead  of  the  animal  as  it 
got  to  its  feet.     The  favorite  way  of  shooting 
these  animals  was,  in  the  early  years,  by  "still 
hunt."     The  hunter   taking  a  seat  on  a   log 
near  a  deer  trail,  and  shooting  such    animals 
as  came  within  his  reach.     Others  watched  a 
'*  lick  "  and  shot  the  deer  as  it  came  to  drink. 


Later,  as  the  deer  grew  scarce  they  were  pur- 
sued with  dogs,  most  farmers  keeping  one  or 
two  and  sometimes  a  dozen. 

Bears  were  sometimes  found,  though  but 
few  are  known  to  have  been  killed  in  this 
township.  One  with  two  cubs  passed  near  a 
new  cabin  that  had  been  raised.  The  settler 
succeeded  in  catching  one  of  the  cubs,  but 
the  mother,  contrary  to  her  traditional  love 
for  her  offspring,  lost  no  time  in  getting  into 
the  timber.  On  another  occasion  a  party  of 
hunters  started  out  from  this  settlement  with 
several  dogs  in  pursuit  of  a  bear  whose  tracks 
they  found  in  the  snow.  After  following  the 
trail  to  McCall's  prairie  they  were  met  by  a 
sudden  snow-squall  which  filled  the  tracks 
and  blinded  the  hunters,  but  the  dogs  exhib- 
iting a  desire  to  rush  on,  were  set  loose 
and  soon  had  bruin  at  bay.  The  men  pushed 
on  and  found  the  animal  had  taken  to  a  tree, 
but  at  the  approach  of  the  hunters  it  came 
down  and  was  soon  at  war  with  the  dogs. 
It  was  impossible  to  shoot  because  the  dogs 
surrounded  the  victim,  so  one  of  the  hunters 
rushed  up  with  an  ax  and  struck  it  a  fatal 
blow  while  it  held  a  dog  in  its  teeth. 

"  Painters,"  wild  cats  and  wolves  were  nu- 
merous and  considerably  feared,  though  no 
mishap  ever  happened  to  the  early  settlers  here 
from  their  attack.  There  have  been  a  good 
many  narrow  escapes  from  what  seemed 
imminent  danger,  which  served  to  emphasize 
the  fear  generally  entertained,  but  these 
hardly  reached  the  dignity  of  an  incident. 
It  is  related  that  a  hunter  following  a 
wounded  deer,  after  he  had  expended  all  his 
bullets  was  seriously  menaced  by  eight 
wolves,  which  the  trace  of  fresh  blood  from 
the  deer  had  attracted,  and  that  they  came 
so  close  that  he  prudently  climbed  a  tree. 
He  was  not  besieged  long  as  the  trail  of  the 
deer  promised  better  game,  and  the  wolves 
passed  on  depriving  the  hunter  of  his  game. 
But  while  these  wolves  were  not  very  trouble- 


HISTOUY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


ii:; 


sonio  to  pui-soMS,  tlioir  attacks  upon  stock 
jiroveda  source  of  annoyanco  to  the  pioneer 
farmer.  There  was  but  little  stock  in  the 
country.  Most  of  the  new  comers  brought 
in  a  cow  and  team  of  horses  or  oxen,  and 
these  were  generally  free  from  attacks.  The 
young  stock,  however,  were  often  victimized. 
Calves,  heifers,  and  occasionally  cows  were 
killed,  while  young  pigs  and  sheep  escaped 
the  voracious  jaws  of  these  animals  only 
through  the  utmost  care.  A  drove  of  sheep 
was  early  brought  to  Palestine,  and  many  of 
the  farmers  bought  enough  to  supply  wool  for 
their  family  needs.  For  years  these  small  flocks 
had  to  be  carefully  watched  during  the  day 
and  folded  at  night,  the  younger  members 
of  the  family  acting  as  shepherds.  The 
farmers' dogs  soon  learned  to  keep  the  wolves 
off,  though  it  generally  needed  the  presence 
of  some  one  of  the  family  to  give  them  the 
necessary  courage  to  attack. 

Bees  were  found  here  in  great  numbers, 
and  honey  and  bees-wax  became  an  article 
of  commerce.  Many  made  honey  an  object 
of  search  and  became  expert  in  hunting  this 
kind  of  game.  The  plan  was  to  burn  some 
of  the  comb  to  attract  the  bees  to  a  bait  of 
honey  or  a  decoction  of  anise  seed,  and  when 
loaded  up  to  watch  their  course.  In  this  way 
hundreds  of  trees  were  found  stored  with  the 
sweet  results  of  the  busy  labor  of  these  insects 
that  would  have  probably  escaped  the  sharp- 
est sciutiny.  S(jme  were  found  containino- 
fifteen  gallons  of  honey,  and  the  past  year 
is  the  first,  since  his  residence  here,  Matthew 
Newlin  relates,  that  he  has  not  discovereil 
one  of  these  trees. 

In  such  a  land,  literally  flowing  with  milk 
and  honey,  it  was  natural  to  expect  the 
Indian  to  linger  till  the  last  possible  moment. 
The  treaty  with  some  of  the  natives  of  this 
region  provided  for  the  payment  of  a  certain 
sum  of  money  in  four  or  five  annual  install- 
nn,'nts  at  Vinccunes.     This    seived    to    keep 


these    loiterers    here,    who  in  the    meantime 
visited  their  old  time  haunts  for  game.    There 
was  on   the   whole   the    utmost   good   feeling 
entertained     by    both   parties.      There    were 
several   cases    of  hostility    with  fatal    results 
in  other  parts    of  the  county,  some    of  which 
threatened  to  involve  the   whole  country  here 
in   a  serious   conflict,  but  the  matter  was  ar- 
ranged and    the    peaceable  relations  existing 
between  the  two  people  were  not   disturbed. 
While  the  Indians   generally   respected    thg 
rights  of  property  holders,  and  are  not  gen- 
erally    charged    with    stealing     the    settlers' 
stock,  etc.,  they  did  not  hesitate  to  take  any- 
thing they  could  eat  whenever  within    their 
reach.     Those   who  were  fortunate  enough  to 
have  a  spring  near  their  cabins   constructed 
a  rude  spring  house  where  the  milk  was  kept. 
This   was  free   plunder    to    the    natives,  and 
they  did  not  scruple  to  come  in  day  light  and 
drain  the  last  drop  before  the  indignant  eyes 
of  the  housewife.     Others  were  in  the    habit 
of  coming  to  certain  cabins  just  about  break- 
fast time,  when  they  had  learned  to  e.>cpect  a 
large  corn-pone  fresh    from   the  bake-kettle. 
The  settlers  soon  learned  to  prepare  for  these 
visits    and   so  save    their   own    meal.      One 
morning  fourteen  of  the  Indians    came   to  a 
cabin  early,   seeking    something   to    eat.     A 
huge  pone  was  just  cooked  and  removing  the 
lid  of  the  old-fashioned  oven  the  head  of  the 
family  pointed  to  the  dish.     The  Indians  fln- 
derstoud  the  gesture  and  one    of  their    num- 
ber    thrusling   his   knile    into    the    steaming 
bread    took   it  from   the    fire,    laid   it  on  the 
table,  and  dividing  into  fifteen  pieces,  took  a 
double    share   and   left,    munching   the   food 
with   grunts  of  satisfaction.     The   rest  each 
took  a  share,  leaving   the   family   without  an 
important  part  of  their   breakfast.     Such   in- 
cidents were  accepted   with  philosophic  com- 
posure by  the  majority  of  the  early  white  in- 
habitants, who  had  a  little  more  to    complain 
of  in    regrad   to  the    natives.      Tliere    were 


114 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNrV. 


others,  however,  who  were  ready  to  charge 
upon  the  Iiuli;u)s  the  loss  of  sundry  hogs  and 
cattle,  though  it  is  generally  believed  that 
such  charges  were  made  to  account  for  the 
hatred  they  cherished  against  them.  One  or 
two  chaiacters  are  mentioned  who,  for  some 
depredations  committed  by  the  savages  in 
Kentucky,  took  occasion  to  here  avenge 
themseves  upon  innocent  members  of  the 
same  race. 

The  natives  were  chiefly  of  the  Kickapoo 
and  Delaware  tribes,  and  spent  several  winters 
here.  Tliey  were  provided  with  a  canvass 
wirrwam,  the  top  being  open  to  allow  the 
smoke  to  escape,  and,  contrary  to  the  gene- 
ral custom  of  the  tribes,  tilled  no  corn  field, 
evidently  preferring  to  depend  upon  the 
bounty  of  the  whites  and  the  results  of  a  little 
petty  exchange  which  grew  up  between  the 
two  races.  Furs,  dressed  buckskin,  and 
game  were  exchanged  for  corn,  bread,  and 
pork  on  ver\-  good  terms  for  the  whites.  They 
gradually  became  very  good  company  with 
the  athletes  of  the  settlement,  and  took  their 
defeats  with  the  best  of  good  nature.  In 
shooting  at  a  mark,  jumping,  wrestling  and 
running  they  were  frequently  out-done  by 
the  whites,  but  in  feats  of  long  endurance, 
shooting  game  and  woodcraft,  thej' sustained 
the  reputation  which  history  has  generally 
given  them. 

The  whites,  separated  from  even  the  crude 
advantages  of  a  frontier  society,  were  at  first 
whoU}'  dependent  upon  their  own  ingenuity 
for  the  commonest  necessaries  of  life.  Most 
of  the  early  families  came  from  communities 
where  flour  was  not  considered  a  luxury,  mills 
were  within  an  easy  journey,  mechanics  were 
abundant  and  the  best  implements  of  the  time 
within  their  reach.  But  in  coming  to  this 
country  all  these  were  left  behind.  Few  had 
money  to  expend  upon  anything  save  the 
price  of  their  land,  and  the  absence  of  stores 
■was  not  at   first  felt  to  be  so  much  of  a  priva- 


tion, but  wiien  their   first    stock    of  ];rovision 
was  expended,  and   tliis   with   their   clothing 
was    to    be    replaced,  the  only  resort  was  to 
Vincennes,    some    thirty    miles  away.     Here 
another  difficulty  presented  itself.     The  farm- 
er had  a  surplus  of  corn  and   but  little   more. 
This  was  neither  legal  tender  nor  good  for  ex- 
change very  often,  and  later,  when  it  became 
marketable,   the    exchange    for  a  wagon  load 
would  not  burden  a  child.       Under   such  cir- 
cumstances  every  piece  of  coin  was  husband- 
ed with  miserly  care  to  meet  land  payments 
and  taxes,  and  often  did  not  suffice   for   that. 
At   one   time  a  large  proportion  of  the  taxes, 
which  for  the  whole  county  did  not  amountto 
more    than    sixty    dollars,  was  paid  in  wolf- 
scalps  and  coon-skins.     There  was  absolutely 
no  money  to  be  had.     There    was    but   little 
wheat  sown,  as  it  was  believed  it  would  not 
grow,  and  even  where  the  seed  was  found  to 
thrive  the  slight  demand  for  it  discouraged  its 
culture.     Corn   was  the  great  staple,  and   va- 
rious  means   were  resorted  to,  to  make  it  an- 
swer   the    various  demands  of  the  farm  and 
family.     The  nearest  mill  was  at  first  in  Sha- 
kerville,  and  subsequently   on    the   Embarras 
River    in    what    is    now    Lawrence     County. 
]}ut  these  mills  were  twenty    miles  away  and 
man3-  an  emergency  arose  when  there  was  no 
meal  in  the  cabin,  and  lack  of  time,  stress  of 
weather    or  other  obstacle  hindered  the  tedi- 
ous journey  and  delay  of  going  to  mill.     Hom- 
inj'  mortars  were  found  at  many  of  the  cabins, 
which     were    generally    used.       These    were 
simply  formed  out  of  a   convenient   stump   or 
laro-e  block  into  which  a  large  excavation  was 
made  by  f;re  and  tools.     Over  this  a  "  sweep  " 
was    erected   to  which   was  attached  a  heavy 
wooden  pestle  faced  with  a  piece  of  iron.     In 
such  a  mill  the  corn    was    beaten    to    various 
o-rades   of  fineness,   the  finest  separated  by  a 
sieve    made    of   perforated  buckskin,  was  re- 
served for  dodgers,  while   the   coarsest   made 
the  traditional  dish  of  hominy.      Jesse    Page 


niSTOllY  0I--  CHAWrORD  COUXTY. 


II.- 


refined  upon  this  construction  ainl  maile  aiudo 
lianilniill  vvliicli    was   kept  in  prettj'  constant 
use  by  himself  and  neighbors.       An  ordinary 
stone  properly  dressed  was  set  in  an  excavated 
stump,  and  another  was  cut   in    circular  form 
■ind  titted  on  top  of  it.     An    iron    set    in   the 
lower   stone  protruded  through  a  hole  in   the 
center  of  the   upper   stone,    which,    ])rovided 
with   a    wooden    handle    near  its  outer  edge, 
completed  the  machine.     The  corn  placed  be- 
tween these  stones    was  converted  into  very 
fair  meal  with  not  much  exertion  or  expend- 
iture of  time.     Later,    William    Barbce    con- 
structed a   single-geared   horse-mill  near  the 
central    part  of  what  is  now  Robinson  town- 
ship.    This   mill    consisted  of  a  small  run  of 
stone  with  a  hopper  attachment  run  by  a  gear- 
ing propelled  by  horses.     The  mill  proper  was 
in    a    log    cabin    provided    for    the     purpose. 
Outside,  a  perpendicular  shaft  carried  at  its  uj3- 
per  end  a  large  wheel  fifteen  to  twenty  feet  in 
diameter,  on  the  circumference  of  which  was 
provided  cogs  to  fit  in  the  shaft-gearing  which 
turned  the  mill.     In  the  lower  part  of  the  up- 
right shaft,  arms  were  fitted,  to  which  two  or 
four  horses  were  attached  and  the  vphole  cov- 
ered with  a  shed,  constituted  a   horse-mill  of 
the  olden  time.     This  proved  a  great  conve- 
nience,   the   farmers    using    their   own  teams 
and  paying  a  good  toll  for  the  use  of  the   ma- 
chinery. 

The  absence  of  any  considerable  streams 
in  the  township  prevented  the  construction  of 
many  of  those  aids  to  pionejr  communities 
thac  do  much  to  mitigate  the  discomforts  of  a 
frontier  experience.  The  horse-mill,  while 
not  the  best  the  country,  afforded  in  this  line, 
was  much  better  than  going  twenty  miles  for 
better  grinding,  though  at  a  later  period, 
when  wheat  became  common,  it  was  found 
necessary  to  go  to  Ilallcnbeck's  mill  in  York 
township,  or  to  the  Shaker  mill.  But  at 
these  mills  the  wheat  was  not  screened  nor 
the  fl  jur  bolted,  and  the  bread  made  from  the 


proJuce  of  these  mills  would  hardly  satisfy 
the  fastidious  taste  of  the  modern  house- 
keeper. Barbee  afterward  sunk  vats  and  did 
some  tanning,  which  was  a  great  addition  to 
the  advantages  of  this  community.  But  all 
were  not  dependent  upon  this  for  their  supplv 
of  leather.  Brown  &  Nichols  made  a  tanner's 
ooze  for  themselves,  and  tanned  hides  in  a 
trough  for  years.  It  was  not  until  about 
18-49  that  the  first  saw-mill  was  erected  north 
of  the  village,  by  Barbee  &  Jolley.  One  of 
the  Barbees  had  a  small  distillery  here,  about 
the  same  time,  but  it  was  in  operation  but  a 
short  time  when  it  was  discontinued. 

The  clothing  of  the  family  depended 
largely  upon  the  handiwork  and  ingenuity  of 
the  women.  The  flax  was  grown  and  the 
sheep  were  sheared,  but  with  this  the  work  of 
the  men  generally  ceased.  To  transform 
these  materials  into  fabrics  and  thence  into 
clothing,  called  for  accomplishments  of  no 
trivial  order,  but  the  women  of  that  day  were 
equal  to  their  duties.  Work  and  play  were 
intimately  associated,  spinning  and  quilting 
bees  lightened  the  labor  and  brought  the 
neighborhood  together  for  a  pleasant  inter- 
change of  gossip  and  frolic  in  the  evening. 
Linsey-woolsey,  a  combination  of  linen  and 
wool  was  the  general  wear  of  the  women,  en- 
livened by  the  rare  luxury  of  a  calico  dress 
for  special  occasions.  The  nun  wore  jeans, 
the  pants  generally  faced  in  front  with  buck- 
skin, a  style  generally  called  "foxed,"  and  in 
which  tlie  women  displayed  no  little  origi- 
nality in  their  effort  to  make  the  addition  take 
on  an  ornamental  as  well  as  useful  character. 
Social  gatherings  were  marked  by  the  play- 
ing of  games  rather  than  dancing.  The 
latter  was  a  favorite  form  of  amusement,  but 
there  was  a  large  element  of"  old  school  Bap- 
tists" among  the  early  settleis  that  did  not 
favor  this  form  of  amusement,  which  led  to 
the  employment  of  other  forms  of  entertain- 
ment.     Whisky  was  less  in  general   use  here 


116 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUiN'TY. 


than  in  many  frontier  communities,  and 
drunkenness  was  at  least  no  more  frequent 
than  now,  in  proportion  to  the  population. 

The  earliest  market  for  the  produce  of, 
the  farmer  was  at  Lawrenceville,  the  mer- 
chants of  which  did  much  more  business  forty 
years  ago  than  now.  Here  the  farmers  drove 
their  hogs  and  cattle  and  hauled  their  corn, 
which  finally  found  a  market  at  New  Orleans. 
Later  the  villages  of  Palestine  and  Hutson- 
ville  afforded  a  nearer  market.  Fruit,  honey, 
bees-wax,  tallow,  and  even  corn,  were  fre- 
quently hauled  to  Chicago,  the  wagons 
returning  loaded  with  salt.  Stock  raising, 
especially  of  cattle  and  hogs,  was  a  promi- 
nent feature  of  the  early  farm  industry,  and 
brought  to  the  farmer  a  pretty  reliable 
revenue.  Cattle  were  sometimes  driven  to 
Chicago,  but  the  most  of  the  stock  was  sold 
to   itinerant    buyers  at  the    farm,   though   at 


marvelously  low  prices  compared  with  those 
ruling  at  this  day.  A  cow  and  calf  sold  for 
$5  or  $(3,  and  a  fine  fat  steer  for  $6  or  $8. 
John  Hill,  Jr.,  sold,  on  one  occasion,  seven 
fine  steers,  for  $50,  a  price  which  he  obtained 
only  through  the  most  stubborn  persistence. 
Garwood,  an  Ohio  cattle  dealer,  offered  $48 
for  the  cattle,  but  as  Hill  was  depending 
upon  the  sale  for  the  purchase  of  forty  acres 
of  land,  he  insisted  upon  the  additional  $'i,  as 
there  was  no  money  to  be  got  otherwise. 
For  two  days  and  nights  Garwood  haggled 
over  the  price,  when  finding  Hill  unyielding, 
gave  the  price  and  took  the  stock. 

Since  then,  how  marked  the  change.  The 
generation  is  growing  up  that  will  scarcely 
believe  the  unvarnished  tale  of  pioneer  ex- 
perience in  this  land,  and  will  only  value  the 
advantages  of  the  present  when  they  accu- 
rately measure  the  sacrifices  and  achieve- 
ments of  the  past. 


i 


^^l^^-c^^e^ 


CHAPTER    XI.* 


ROBINSON  VILLAGE— THE  STAR  OF  EMPIRE— A  NEW  TOWN  LAID  OUT— FIRST  PLAT  AND 
SUBSEQUE^^T  ADDIi'IOXS— EARLY    DEVELOPMENT— GROWTH  OF  BUSINESS  IN- 
TERESTS—THE   RAILROAD  IMPETUS— SCHOOLS,  CHURCHES  AND  BE- 
NEVOLENT   SOCIETIES— CEMETERIES,    ETC.,    ETC. 


THE  geocrraphical  location  of  Palestine  made 
tlie  eventual  removal  of  the  county  seat 
td  a  more  central  site  a  foregone  conclusion 
from  the  very  first.  But,  while  this  fact  vras 
recognized  by  all,  the  influence  of  Palestine 
interests  was  bent  to  delay  the  inevitable 
change  to  the  last  possible  moment.  The 
rapid  development  of  York  and  Hutsonville 
soon  made  them  active  rivals  for  the  metro- 
poiitan  honors  of  the  county  and  foolishly 
jealous  of  the  prestige  of  the  favored  tovifn. 
As  the  settlement  of  the  county  advanced 
and  communities  grew  up  in  the  northern  and 
western  parts,  the  long,  tedious  journeys  re- 
quired to  transact  public  business  created  an 
Ticreasing  demand  that  the  change  should  be 
made  as  early  as  possible.  There  was  no 
reasonable  ground  on  which  either  of  the 
other  prominent  towns  could  hope  to  succeed 
to  official  honors,  but  the  removal,  it  was 
thought,  would  seriously  cripple  the  com- 
mercial importance  of  their  rival.  This  agi- 
tation was  not  expressed  in  any  combined 
action  until  1843.  At  this  time  Hebron  had 
become  quite  an  important  inland  center,  and 
acting  as  a  cats-paw  for  Hutsonville,  the  ini- 
tiatory steps  for  the  removal  were  started  in 
these  villages,  and  the  matter  brought  before 
the  people  for  decision.  The  first  vote  was 
on  the  cpiestion  of  removal,  which  was  de- 
cided affirmatively.  An  election  was  then 
called  to  choose  the  site.     The  act  authorizing 

*Ry  J.  H.  Battle. 


the  removal  required  a  donation  of  forty 
acres  which  should  be  platted,  the  sale  of 
which  should  provide  the  means  for  the 
erection  of  public  buildings.  Offers  of  the 
requisite  land  were  made  on  the  site  of  the 
present  village,  at  Hebron  and  at  a  site  five 
miles  southwest  of  the  present  village  of 
Robinson.  In  the  election  which  followed, 
beside  these  localities,  the  site  on  the  farm  of 
W.  S.  Enamons,  the  geographical  center  of 
the  county,  Hutsonville  and  Palestine  re- 
ceived votes,  but  without  a  sufficient  pre- 
ponderance to  make  a  choice.  A  second 
election  was  then  called  to  decide  between 
the  Robinson  site  and  P.  C.  Barlow's  site,  in 
which  the  former  proved  successful. 

The  site  thus  chosen  was  the  judicious 
selection  of  the  whole  people  uninfluenced  by 
partisan  considerations.  It  was  situated  at 
the  central  point  of  the  dividing  line  between 
sections  33  and  3-i  in  town  7  north,  range  13 
west.  The  east  "  eighty "  was  owned  by 
William  Willson,  the  southwest  "  forty  "  by 
Finley  Paull  and  Robt.  C.  Wilson,  and  the 
northwest  "  forty  "  by  John  W.  Wilson,  ten 
acres  from  the  converging  corners  of  each 
section  formino'  the  donation  for  the  village. 
The  forty  acres  thus  constituted  were  prairie 
land  partially  covered  with  a  heavy  under- 
growth of  brush  with  here  and  there  a  large 
tree,  and  skirted  with  considerable  heavy 
timber.  It  was  an  eligible  site  in  every  way, 
and  for  the  purposes  of  a  county  seat  was 
probably  the  best  site  in  the  county,  though 


120 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


there  were  but  two  cabins  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  proposed  town  at  that  time.     William  B. 
Baker,  the   official    surveyor,    under    the    in- 
structions of  the  commissioners  at  once  set 
about  platting  the   new  village,  and  on  De- 
cember 25,  1843,  presented  the  result  of  his 
labors  for  record,  with  the  following  concise 
description:  "The  size  of  the  lots  in  the  town 
of  Robinson  is   sixty-five  feet  front,  east  and 
west,  and  130  feet  long.     The  public  square 
is  260  feet  north  and  south  and  2-iO  feet,  east 
and    west.     The    streets    each    side    of  the 
square    (east  and    west  sides)  are    fifty    feet 
broad.     The  main  streets  through  the  center 
of  the  town    each    way,  are    eighty  feet,  and 
all  the    rest    are   sixty    feet,    save  the  border 
streets  on  the    outside  of  the   lots  which  are 
forty  feet."     The  lines  are  run  by  the  cardinal 
points  of  the  compass,  the  plat  fronting  the 
north.     The    streets  running  east  and  west, 
lieginning   at   the    south   side  are    Chestnut, 
Locust,  Main,  Walnut  and  Cherry;  at  right 
angles  with  these,  beginning  on  the  east,  are 
Howard,    Franklin,    Court     street,    Marshall, 
Cheapside,    Jefferson     and    Lincoln.       Court 
street  and  Cheapside   are  short  thoroughfares 
which  define  the  public  square  and  connect 
!Main    and    Locust    streets.     Marshall    street 
ends  at  the  central  entrance  on  the  north  side 
of  the  square,  its  projection  on  the  south  side 
lieing  called  Broadway.      The  plat    was   thus 
divided    into    fourteen     regular    and     three 
irregular  sized  blocks  aggregating  120  blocks. 
Robinson,  thus  evoked  out  of  the  wilderness, 
was  simply  a  "fiat"  town.     It  represented  no 
commercial  advantages,  served  no  speculative 
purpose,  and  awakened  no  animated    interest 
in  its  success.     It    is  believed    by  some   that 
lots  were  offered  at  public  sale  early  in  1844, 
but  this  is  probably  a   mistake,    or  the  result 
was  deemed  unworthy  of  record.     The  prop- 
erly was  not  the  kind  which  would  find  ready 
purchasers    at  lair  figures,  as    few  whose  pro- 
fession or  official  duties  did  not  require  their 


presence  would  care  to  leave  more  important 
business  centers  for  any  inducements  this  site 
could  offer.  The  earliest  record  of  the  pur- 
chase of  lots  is  dated  December  3, 1844,  when 
Francis  Waldrop  bought  lots  No.  77  and  78, 
for  $45.75.  The  second  purchase  was  made 
by  Wm.  B.  Baker  and  consisted  of  lots  No. 
101  to  108,  both  inclusive,  lots  69,  70,  71,  73 
and  80,  paying  S300  for  them.  There  is  no 
further  record  until  December,  1846,  when 
W.  H.  Starrett  bought  lot  74  for  S22,50;  Wal- 
drop bought  lot  56,  for  $.30,  and  Leonard  D. 
Cullom  bought  lots  79,  81  and  82,  for  $41.  In 
1847,  in  September  and  December,  lots  22, 
23  and  24  were  purchased  by  Wra.  and  Thom- 
as Barbee  for  $33;  lot  98  by  D.  A.  Bailey 
for  $25;  lot  75  by  Wm.  Brown  for  $25;  lot 
54  by  Mary  Johns  for  $20;  lot  99  by  Anna 
Longnecker  for  $15;  lot  67  by  Wm.  Young 
for  $12.12;  and  lots  41  and  42  by  George  C. 
Fitch  for  $30.  In  the  following  year  aliout  a 
dozen  lots  were  disposed  of  at  prices  ranging 
from  $11  to  $25.  Robert  and  Henry  Weaver, 
David  Lillie  and  J.  M.  Grimes  appearing 
among  the  names  of  purchasers.  These  names 
indicate  the  early  accessions  to  the  com- 
munity though  there  were  others  hen;  who 
seem  to  have  bought  land  at  second-hand  or 
occupied  a  building  site  some  time  before 
purchasing. 

The  first  building  erected  was  a  small  frame 
structure  on  the  site  of  Collin's  exchange 
store.  This  was  put  up  by  James  Weaver  and 
was  subsequently  moved  to  the  northeast  cor- 
ner of  Marshall  and  Main  streets,  where  it 
served  as  kitchen  to  a  large  two-story  log  ho- 
tel built  on  that  corner.  This  building  still 
serves  as  a  dwelling  in  the  northwest  part  of 
the  town.  The  vacant  frame  building  now 
standing  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Locust 
street  and  Cheapside  is  the  second  structure 
erected  in  the  village.  This  was  built  by 
Francis  Waldrop  in  the  spring  of  1844,  and 
united  store  and  dwelling  under    one    roof. 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


121 


The  kitchen  part  afforded  quarters  for  one  of 
the  earliest  sessions  of  the  Commissioners' 
Court.  Some  time  during  this  year  Mr.  Wal- 
tlrop  put  in  a  small  stock  of  goods  which  was 
boiiirht  privately  at  Hutsonville.  A  third 
building  was  the  residence  of  W.  B.  Baker. 
This  was  a  building  constructed  of  peeled 
hickory  logs  and  situated  in  the  grove  just 
southeast  of  the  plat,  where  the  residence  of 
Mr.  Hill  now  stands.  The  grove  substantial! v 
as  it  now  stands,  was  secured  by  purchase  of 
the  lots  above  mentioned  and  the  balance 
from  Wilson,  the  original  owner  of  that  sec- 
tion. Baker  soon  closed  up  that  part  of  the 
streets  that  passed  through  his  property,  a 
summary  proceeding  which  has  since  received 
the  doubtful  sanction  of  a  legislative  act.  The 
briek  residence  occupies  the  point  where  the 
south  and  east  border  streets  met.  About 
this  time  the  contractor  on  the  court  house 
put  up  a  log  building  and  moved  his  family 
here  for  a  temporary  residence.  This  com- 
prised the  village  community  of  Robinson  in 
the  fall  of  1845,  when  it  received  its  first 
professional  accession  in  Judge  Robb,  who 
was  then  practicing  medicine.  He  built  a  log 
building  about  eighteen  feet  square  on  the 
site  of  Charles  Hill's  present  residence,  which 
placed  him  just  outside  the  precincts  of  the 
rising  city.  It  will  hardly  be  surprising  that 
forty  acres  should  prove  sufficient  to  contain 
the  village,  at  this  rate  of  increase  for  some 
fifteen  years.  It  is  questionable  whether  the 
crowded  condition  of  things  even  then  de- 
manded an  addition,  but  it  is  evidence  of 
growth  that  in  1858  Asa  Ayers  did  plat 
twelve  lots  between  Marshall  and  Franklin 
streets,  adjoining  the  northern  line  of  the 
original  plat.  In  1865  an  estimate  of  the 
population  in  the  village  placed  it  at  less  than 
four  hundred,  but  there  was  evidence  of  slow 
but  steady  growth,  and  in  18tJ7  William  C. 
Dickson's  addition  of  twenty  lots,  and  Robb's 
first  addition  of  twenty-four  lots,  were   made. 


In  1870  Robert  Morrison  added  sixteen  lots, 
and  four  years  later  Watts'  addition  of  twenty 
lots  was  made.  In  1875  a  new  element  was 
added  to  the  situation.  The  agitation  of  the 
question  of  railroads  materialized  and  gave 
such  an  impetus  to  the  development  of  the 
new  town  that  property  holders  on  the  eastern 
side  of  the  village,  catching  the  infection,  vied 
with  each  other  in  platting  their  lanils.  In 
this  year  ninety-three  lots  were  added  in 
seven  "additions."  In  the  following  year 
seven  more  additions,  aggregating  193  lots, 
were  made,  and  in  1877,  seventy  more  were 
added  in  three  parcels.  In  1878,  two  addi- 
tions aggregating  twenty-seven  lots,  were 
made,  and  a  final  one,  in  1881,  of  thirty-six 
lots. 

Until  18GG,  the  destiny  of  the  village  was 
guided  by  the  justice  of  the  peace,  the  con- 
stable and  road  supervisor.  Some  few  at- 
tempts at  internal  improvements  had  been 
made  but  nothing  approaching  a  systematic 
effort.  Early  in  this  year  a  meeting  of  the 
voters  of  the  village  was  called  at  the  court 
house,  at  wliich  it  was  decided  by  a  nearly 
unanimous  voice  to  take  the  legal  steps  to  in- 
corporate the  village  under  the  general  law. 
On  the  2d  day  of  March,  E.  Callahan,  Thos. 
Barbee,  Thos.  Sims,  D.  D.  Fowler  and  A.  P. 
Woodworth  were  elected  trustees,  who  met 
on  the  following  day  and  organized  by  elect- 
ing Thos.  Barbee,  president,  J.  C.  Olwin, 
clerk,  Joseph  Kent,  constable,  and  Thos. 
Sims,  treasurer.  At  an  adjourned*  meeting 
the  usual  list  of  ordinances  were  adopted,  the 
first  of  which  defines  tlie  limits  of  the  corpo- 
ration as  follows:  "  Commencing  at  the  south- 
east corner  of  the  west  half  of  section  thirty- 
four,  in  town  7  north,  of  range  12  west,  and 
running  thence  north  one  mile,  thence  west 
one  mile,  thence  south  one  mile,  thence  east 
one  mile  to  the  place  of  beginning."  The 
limits  thus  established  have  proven  sufficient. 
without   subsequent  extension,  to  include  the 


1^2 


HISTORY   or  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


growth  of  the  village  to  this  time.  By  this 
orio-inal  code  of  municipal  laws,  litter  and  ob- 
structions upon  the  sidewalks  were  forbidden, 
and  the  sale  of  liquor  as  a  beverage,  public 
business  on  the  Sabbath,  gambling,  etc.,  ta- 
booed. The  more  immediate  effect  of  the 
new  order  of  things  was  seen  in  the  build- 
ing of  sidewalks.  In  18(58  property  holders 
about  the  public  square  were  required  to  lay 
brick  or  plank  walks,  and  in  other  parts  of 
town  where  there  was  most  demand.  In  1S75, 
when  the  railroad  infused  new  life  into  every 
department  of  society,  the  town  board  rose  to 
the  importance  of  the  occasion  and  appro- 
priated a  thousand  dollars  for  this  purpose. 
In  the  following  year  50,000  feet  of  lumber 
was  bought  and  another  thousand  dollars  ap- 
propriated, and  this  spirit  of  enterprise  has 
been  maintained  until  there  are  few  villages 
of  the  size  of  Robinson  that  are  so  well  pro- 
vided with  broad,  well  made  walks.  The 
streets  have  been  under  the  direction  of  a 
road  master,  and  upon  them  have  been  ex- 
pended each  year  the  "poll-tax  labor"  of  the 
village  with  some  tangible  result.  Koad 
making  material  is  scarce  in  thi's  vicinity,  and 
but  little  more  has  been  done  than  to  care- 
fully turnpike  the  streets.  Some  gravel  has 
been  used  on  the  streets  about  the  square  but 
only  with  the  effect  to  modify  the  depthless 
mud  that  mars  the  streets  of  this  village  during 
the  spring  time.  Recently  some  effort  looking 
toward  the  lighting  of  the  streets  has  been 
made,  though  so  far  no  definite  action  has 
been  taken. 

Another  subject  which  is  the  perennial 
source  of  agitation  in  the  villages  of  Illinois, 
and  which  devolves  especial  responsibility 
upon  the  authorities  that  be,  is  the  regulation 
of  the  sale  of  liquor.  The  attitude  of  the  first 
board  of  trustees  undoubtedly  expressed  the 
prevalent  sentiment  of  the  community  in  re- 
stricting the  sale  of  "ardent  spirits  "to  simply 
the    demands    for    mechanical,    medicinal   or 


sacramental  purposes.  But  the  minority 
upon  this  subject,  by  constant  pressure  of 
specious  arguments,  soon  effected  a  change 
in  the  public  policy.  In  1870  license  was 
granted  for  the  sale  of  liquor  in  unlimited 
quantities,  the  vendor,  with  exception  of  drug- 
gists, to  pay  three  hundred  dollars  and  give 
an  indemnifying  bond.  In  the  following  year 
the  whole  liquor  traffic  was  taken  out  of  the 
hands  of  regular  dealers  and  the  somewhat 
novel  plan  of  appointing  agents  to  sell  only 
for  "  mechanical,  medicinal  and  sacramental 
purposes."  This  plan  seems  hardly  to  have 
been  well  considered  before  initiated,  and  the 
board  soon  found  itself  involved  in  the  most 
perplexing  maze  of  evasions  and  technicali- 
ties, and  in  very  despair  the  whole  scheme 
was  abolished  in  1874,  and  the  regular  "  no 
license"  plan  again  adopted.  Since  then  the 
subject  has  alternated  from  one  extreme  to 
the  other,  the  license  fee  reaching  as  high  as 
§1,200  on  the  statute  book,  but  without  occa- 
sion of  enforcing  it.  It  stands  now  at  eight 
hundred  dollars  and  a  substantial  bond  to  in- 
sure the  I'quor  seller's  compliance  with  the 
terms  of  his  contract.  Even  at  this  figure  the 
tr  iffic  is  such  that  three  saloons  find  induce- 
ment to  carry  on  the  business  here. 

A  late  outgrowth  of  enterprise  rather  than 
demand  of  the  village,  is  the  fire  department. 
In  the  early  part  of  1881,  the  propriety  of 
securing  a  hook  and  ladder  apparatus  was 
brought  up  and  carried  forward  with  com- 
mendable spirit  to  a  successful  issue.  Rubber- 
pails  were  added  to  the  outfit,  a  company  or- 
ganized and  a  suitable  building  erected  at  a 
total  cost  of  some  five  hundred  dollars.  Early 
in  the  follownng  year  a  hand  engine  for  which 
the  city  of  Vincennes  had  no  further  use  was 
purchased  and  added  to  the  department. 
There  has  been  no  occasion  yet  to  demon- 
strate the  efficacy  of  the  fiie  department,  nor 
is  its  complete  organization  strong-ly  vouched 
for,  but  it  has  had  a  formal   institution  and 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


123 


will  doubtless  develop  with  the  occasion  for 
its  service. 

There  was  but  little  to  attract  business  to 
the  ni  wly  laid  out  town  of  Robinson,  and 
Waldrop  for  a  time  monopolized  the  fi-ade. 
In  the  course  of  a  year  or  two,  however,  Ma- 
ginley  set  up  an  opposition  store,  and  Felix 
Hacket  opened  a  saloon,  or  grocery  where 
whisky  was  the  principal  stock  in  trade,  in 
a  log  building  on  the  east  side  of  the  square. 
Barbee  and  Brown  were  also  amoncr  the  first 
log  Store  merchants,  doing  business  near  the 
center  of  the  east  side  of  the  square.  In 
Iy53  brick  business  houses  began  to  ap- 
pear. In  this  year  John  Dixon,  who  began 
trade  in  Robinson  about  1819,  put  up  the  first 
brick  store  building  in  the  village  on  the  cor- 
ner of  Main  and  Marshall  streets,  which  is 
now  used  by  Griffith  as  a  shoe  store.  In  the 
following  year  Thomas  Barbee,  who  had  "  kept 
hotel "  on  Marshall  street,  a  block  or  two  north 
of  Main,  built  the  Robinson  House,  which  is 
now  the  principal  hostelry  of  the  town.  In 
the  same  fall  Woodworth  and  Lagow  began  the 
erection  of  the  brick  building  occupying  the 
southeast  corner  of  Main  and  Court  streets, 
finishing  it  in  the  following  spring.  These 
buildings  were  a  little  later  follc)wed  by  the 
erection  of  the  Masonic  Building,  and  just 
before  the  completion  of  the  railroad,  what  is 
known  as  the  Southside  Block  was  erected. 
This  block  consists  of  six  two-storied  brick 
buildings  seventy  feet  deep  and  twenty  in 
width  outside  of  three  stairways  and  halls  on 
the  second  floor  of  four  feet  each.  The  con- 
struction of  this  block  was  first  conceived  bj' 
Judge  W.  C.  Jones,  who  erected  two  of  the 
buildings,  A.  H.  Jones  the  third,  Jones  and 
Maxwell  a  fourth,  A.  O.  Maxwell  the  fifth, 
and  Mrs.  Callahan  the  sixth.  The  influence 
of  the  new  railroad  was  at  its  heisrht,  and  al- 
though  its  old-time  competitors  proclaimed 
Robinson  "finished,"  A.  H.  Waldrop,  then 
owner  of  the  Robinson   House,  commenced 


the  erection  of  a  large  two-story  brick  addition 
in  the  rear  of  the  hotel  at  once.  In  the  same 
season  the  Robinson  Bank  and  the  storehouse 
of  E.  E.  Murray  &  Co.,  both  two-storj'  bricks 
of  20x70  feet,  were  erected,  followed  in  the 
succeeding  season  by  two  more  buildings  of 
the  same  size,  erected  by  J.  H.  Wood,  which 
closed  up  the  vacant  ground  on  the  east  side 
of  the  square  from  the  Masonic  building  to 
the  Woodworth  buildings.  The  same  season 
John  Hill  &  Son  erected  a  two-story  building 
on  the  corner  east  of  the  square,  extending 
from  Douglas  to  Jefferson  street.  In  the 
meantime,  beside  these  structures  for  business 
purposes,  several  fine  and  substantial  resi- 
dences were  erected  at  a  cost  of  from  six  to  ten 
thousand  dollars.  In  1878  the  block  of  brick 
buildings  north  of  the  square  was  erected, 
and  in  the  following  year  .T.  U.  Grace  erected 
an  addition  on  the  west  side  of  the  Robinson 
House,  18  by  110  feet,  the  lower  story  for  a 
place  of  business  and  the  upper  to  furnish 
additional  rooms  for  the  hotel. 

About  the  same  time  with  Dixon,  the 
Lagows  started  a  branch  of  their  Palestine 
store  in  Robinson,  which  in  1853  was  con- 
ducted by  the  firm  of  Woodworth  and  Lagow. 
Barbee  and  Jolly  began  business  here  about 
1855,  but  continued  for  only  a  year  or  two 
when  they  closed  up  with  an  assignment, 
their  liabilities  being  principally  to  eastern 
merchants  and  reaching  a  very  considerable 
amount.  On  the  death  of  Dixon  about  1855, 
the  Preston  Brothers,  a  heavy  business  firm  of 
Hutsonville  with  stores  in  a  half  dozen  places 
in  Clark  and  Crawford  Counties  and  else- 
where, established  a  branch  house  in  Robin- 
son, occupying  the  Dixon  building.  This 
firm  with  that  of  Woodworth  and  Lagow  were 
the  largest  business  houses  here  at  that  time 
and  until  the  coming  of  the  railroad  attracted 
a  large  and  peculiar  trade.  There  was  but 
little  money  in  the  country  until  18GI  or  3 
and  business  was  conducted   almost  entirely 


1-24 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


without  it.  Goods  were  sold  on  a  year's  cred- 
it and  in  the  fall  the  merchants  bought  all 
the  grain,  hogs  or  cattle  for  sale.  Each  firm 
had  warehouses  and  packing  houses  on  the 
Wabash,  beside  a  farm  fitted  for  the  purpose 
of  feeding  stock.  In  the  spring,  grain,  pork 
and  cattle  were  shipped  by  the  river  to  New 
Orleans.  Considerable  quantities  of  grain 
were  taken  in  and  stored  ■  at  Robinson  until 
the  hard  road  of  the  winter  afforded  an  op- 
portunity of  hauling  it  to  the  river.  One  of 
these  firms  made  a  practice  of  buying  horses 
in  the  fall,  securing  the  most  of  them  on 
accounts  due  them  for  goods.  These  were 
assorted,  the  inferior  stock  traded  off,  and  the 
better  ones  got  in  good  condition  and  sent 
down  the  river  in  the  spring  to  market.  Thus 
to  insure  success  in  business  here,  the  mer- 
chant found  it  necessary  to  combine  the  qual- 
ities of  a  good  stock  speculator  as  well  as 
those  of  a  storekeeper,  a  failure  in  either 
branch  proving  disastrous  to  the  business. 
The  operations  of  these  business  houses  took 
a  remarkable  range,  the  Preston  Brothers 
maintaining  one  partner  whose  whole  time 
and  attention  was  occupied  with  these  out- 
side affairs. 

The  coming  of  railroad  facilities  wrought  a 
speedy  revolution  in  business  circles.  The 
abundance  of  currency  set  afloat  by  the  Gov- 
ernment during  the  war  had  nearly  done  away 
with  the  prevailing  system  of  barter  and  thus 
curtailed  the  profits  with  the  extent  of  the 
operations  of  the  old  time  trade.  The  old 
firms  gradually  passed  away  with  the  old  cus- 
toms, giving  place  to  others  of  a  younger 
generation.  But  there  has  been  no  perma- 
nent contraction  of  business  on  account  of  this 
change.  The  large  operations  of  the  few  have 
been  divided  among  the  number  who  have 
succeeded  and  the  business  of  the  village  has 
larg'^y  expanded.  The  coming  of  the  Paris 
and  Danville  road,  gave  Robinson  a  decided 
advantage  over  its  competitors  for  the  trade 


of  the  county,  but  the  subsequent  construc- 
tion of  the  "narrow  gauge  railroad,"  rather 
restored  the  equilibrium,  and  the  "county 
seat,"  while  still  far  in  the  lead,  finds  the  com- 
petition in  the  grain  trade,  at  least,  one  of 
considerable  imnortance. 

A  number  of  mills — saw,  grist  and  planing 
mills — constitute  most  of  the  manufacturing 
industries  of  the  town.  The  large  brick 
figuring  mill  was  built  by  Brown,  Sims  & 
Waldrop,  and  is  now  used  by  John  Newton 
and  Dyer's  estate.  The  Junction  mills, 
owned  by  Collins  &  Kirk,  was  built  by  Will- 
iam C.  Shafer.  The  saw-mill  near  the  Junc- 
tion mills  was  built  by  Brigham  and  Wilson, 
and  is' now  owned  by  Reinoehl  &  Co.  Near 
it  is  the  Robinson  machine  shop  and  foundry, 
put  up  about  a  year  ago,  by  Ogden  &  Martin. 
It  is  not  running  at  present.  The  planing 
mill  of  Wiseman  &  Brubaker  is  located  near 
the  Wabash  depot.  It  was  originally  built 
by  Wesley  Fields.  A  planing  mill  stands 
near  the  narrow  guage  depot,  owned  by  Otey 
&  Sons.  School  furniture  is  manufactured  at 
this  mill.  A  few  other  manufacturing  enter- 
prises are  in  contemplation,  but  have  not  yet 
resulted  in  anything  definite. 

The  educational  facilities  of  Robinson  are 
confined  to  the  public  schools.  The  early 
history  of  education  in  the  village  is  not  dis- 
similar to  that  of  other  early  settlements. 
The  first  school  is  supposed  to  have  been 
taught  in  a  log  building  about  1848,  by  Wm. 
Grimes.  The  court  house  was  used  several 
years  for  school  purposes.  The  town  has 
now  a  very  good,  comfortable  school- house — 
a  two-story  frame  building,  but  not  adequate 
to  accommodate  the  growing  wants  of  the 
"young  ideas,"  and  a  large  building  must 
soon  take  the  place  of  the  one  now  in  use. 

The  regular  attendance  of  the  Robinson 
public  school  is  over  three  hundred  pupils. 
Prof.  S.  G.  Murray,  an  excellent  teacher,  is 
principal;  D.  G.  Murray,  teacher  of  grammar 


UISTOllY  OF  CKAWFORD  COUNTY. 


125 


di'partine:it;  other  teachers,  W.  G.  llale, 
Miss  Mary  Firman   and  Mrs.  Fh)ra  B.  Lane. 

Tue  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  organi- 
zation is  the  oldest  church  in  Robinson,  and 
dates  back  into  the  "  forties."  Of  its  earliest 
history  we  obtained  no  reliable  data,  and  can 
give  but  a  brief  sketch  of  it.  The  elegant 
and  tasteful  brick  church  edifice  was  built  in 
1866,  at  a  cost  of  more  than  S5,000.  The 
membership  is  large  and  flourishing,  and  is 
under  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  Mr.  Massey.  A 
good  Sunday  school,  of  which  John  Maxwell 
is  superintendent,  is  maintained  during  the 
entire  year. 

The  Presbyterian  Church,  the  sketch  of 
which  is  taken  from  the  Argus,  was  organized 
originally,  October  38,  1848,  with  sixteen 
members,  chiefly  from  the  Palestine  church. 
Under  this  organization  it  hal  a  brief  exist- 
ence, and  the  members  dissolved  and  re- 
turned to  the  old  church.  On  the  8th  of 
November,  1872,  Rev.  Thomas  Spencer  and 
Elder  Finley  Paull  renewed  the  organization 
as  the  "First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Robin- 
son." The  first  elders  were  Wra.  C.  "Wilson, 
John  H.  Wilkin  and  Rufus  R.  Lull;  the  first 
minister,  Rev.  Aaron  Thompson.  He  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  Thomas  Spencer  and  he 
by  Rev.  John  E.  Carson,  all  of  whom  have 
been  stated  supply.  No  church  building  has 
been  erected  by  the  society,  but  they  used  the 
Methodist  church.  They  own  a  parsonage 
which  cost  $1,000,  but  are  at  present  without 
a  pastor. 

The  Christian  Church  was  organized  in 
Robinson  in  the  spring  of  1876,  and  among 
the  original  members  were  N.  S.  Brown  and 
wife,  M.  C.  Shepherd,  Mrs.  Mary  Callahan, 
Hickman  Henderson,  and  Jas.  M.  Gardner 
and  wife.  The  organization  of  the  church 
resulted  from  a  meeting  of  several  days'  du- 
ration held  in  the  court  house  by  Elder  A.  D. 
Daily,  of  Terre  Haute.  Some  fifteen  or 
twenty  additions  were  made  to  the  member- 


ship during  the  meeting.  Elder  Daily  visited 
the  church  once  a  mojith  for  a  year  or  more. 
The  next  minister  was  Elder  I.  G.  Tomlinson, 
of  Indianapolis,  who  preached  here  once  a 
month.  The  church  was  built  about  a  year 
after  the  society  was  organized,  N.  S.  Brown, 
ilrs.  Callahan,  H.  Henderson  and  M.  C.  Shep- 
herd being  the  principal  movers  toward  the 
building  of  it.  It  Wiis  completed  and  dedi- 
cated in  the  summer  of  1883  by  Prof.  R.  T. 
Brown,  of  Indianapolis.  There  are  at  present 
about  one  hundred  members,  and  they  are 
without  a  pastor.  A  Sunday  school  is  main- 
tained. 

Robinson  Mission  Catholic  Church  was  es- 
tablished in  1882  by  Father  Kuhlmann,  of 
Marshall,  with  a  strength  of  about  fifteen 
families.  The  church  building  was  erected 
the  same  year,  at  a  cost  of  $700,  and  was 
dedicated  by  Rev.  Father  Kuhlmann,  who 
has  been  the  only  rector,  administering  to  the 
congregation  once  a  month. 

The  secret  and  benevolent  institutions  of 
Robinson  come  in  regular  conrse  next  to  the 
Christian  churches.  They  do  as  mush  good 
in  their  way  as  the  churches  themselves.  And 
the  best  men  in  the  country  do  not  deem  it 
beneath  their  dignity  to  lend  their  assistance 
and  countenance  to  these  institutions.  The 
Masonic  fraternity  has  been  represented  here 
by  a  lodge  and  a  chapter. 

Robinson  Lodge,  No.  250,  A.,  F.  &  A.  M., 
was  organized  in  1856,  and  the  charter  signed 
by  J.  H.  Hibbard,  grand  master,  and  H.  G. 
Reynolds,  grand  secretary-.  The  charter 
members  were  John  T.  Cox,  Daniel  Perrine, 
Joseph  H.  Huls,  Irvine  Heustis,  J.  M.  Alexan- 
der, J.  C.  Ruddell,  John  D.Smith  and  Charles 
Meilley.  John  T.  Cox  was  the  first  master; 
Daniel  Perrine,  senior  warden;  J.  H.  Huls, 
junior  warden;  D.  M.  Mail,  treasurer,  and 
Irvine  Heustis,  seeretar}-.  The  present  of- 
ficers are:  T.  S.  Price,  master;  H.  B.  Lutes 
senior  warden;    W.  P.  Stiles,  junior  warden; 


126 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


J.  C.  Evans,  treasurer,  and  M.  C.  Mills,  sec'y. 

Robinson  R.  A.  Chapter  No.  149  was  or- 
ganized December  1,  1871,  and  among  its 
charter  members  were  J.  M.  Jarrett,  John 
Newton,  A.  J.  Haskett,  0.  M.  Patton,  Wm. 
C.  Wilson,  Wm.  Dyer,  Geo.  W.  Harper, 
Wm.  C.  Jones,  E.  Callahan,  S.  MidkiflF,  S. 
Taylor,  J.  L.  Cox,  I.  D.  Mail,  W.  F.  Fleck,  J. 
O.  Steel,  etc.  The  first  officers  were  J.  M. 
Jarrett,  H.  P.;  John  Newton,  K.;  A.  J.  Has- 
kett, S.;  C.  M.  Patton,  C.  of  H.;  Wm.  C.  Wil- 
son, P.  J.;  Wm.  Dyer,  R.  A.  C;  Wm.  C. 
Jones,  S.  Midkifif  and  W.  H.  Fleck,  G.  M.  of 
v.;  Samson  Taylor,  treasurer;  E.  Callahan, 
Fecretary,  and  G.  W.  Harper,  tiler.  To  the 
shams  of  the  fraternity  be  it  said,  they  have 
let  the  chapter  die  out,  and  the  charter  has 
been  surrendered  to  the  grand  chapter. 

Crawford  Lodge,  No.  124,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  was 
instituted  in  1855,  with  thai  following  charter 


members:     Wm.    C.    "^Vilson,  Wm.  Barbee, 

A.  W.  Gordon,  S.  H.  Decius  and  James  S. 
Barbee.  The  first  officers  were  W.  C.  Wil- 
son, N.  G.;  Wm.  Barbee,  V.  G.,  and  James 
S.  Barbee,  secretary.  It  died  out,  but  was 
resuscitated  again  in  a  few  years.  The  pres- 
ent officers  are  T.  S.  Price,  N.  G.;  A.  B.  Hous- 
ton, V.  G.;  George  Kessler,  treasurer,  and 
G.  W.  Henderson,  secretary. 

Robinson  Lodge,  No.  1744,  Knights  of 
Honor,  was  organized  in  August,  1880,  and 
among  its  charter  members  are  Peter  Walk- 
er, C.  H.  Grube,  J.  P.  Murphy,  M.  C.  Mills, 
T.  S.  Price,  A.  H.  Waldrop,  J.   C.  Olwin,  A. 

B.  Houston,  Zalmon  Ruddell,  I.  L.  Fire- 
baugh,  Geo.  N.  Parker  and  others.  The 
present  officers  are  George  W.  Harper,  P. 
D.;  W.  N.  Willis,  D.;  P.  Walker,  reporter; 
Sol  Moers,  financial  reporter,  and  J.  C.  Ol- 
win, treasurer. 


CHAPTEE    XII.* 


LAMOTTE  TOWNSHIP— GENERAL  DESCRIPTION  AND  TOPOaRAPHY— EARLY   SETTLEMENT 
—JOSEPH  LAMOTTE— THE  EATONS— OTHER  PIONEERS— THE  SEVEN  JESSES— EX- 
TRACT FROM  FICKLIN'S  ADDRESS— SCHOOLS  AND  CHURCHES— PAL- 
ESTINE—ITS  GROWTH,  DEVELOPMENT  AND  INCORPORA- 
TION—THE LAND  OFFICE— REGISTERS  AND  RE- 
CEIVERS—EDUCATIONAL,  RELIG- 
IOUS,   ETC.,    ETC. 


"When  in  the  chi-onicles  of  wasted  time 
I  read  descriptions,  etc." 

— Shakespeare. 

n^^IIE  marvelous  development  of  our  coun- 
-L  try  is  without  parallel  in  history.  Look 
back  a  generation  or  two  and  behold  tliese 
smiling-  fields  a  primeval  forest  or  wild  prai- 
rie. There  are  scores  of  people  still  living 
who  recollect  when  hazel  brush  grew  upon 
the  site  of  the  county's  capital,  and  when  the 
roads  were  little  else  than  blind  trails,  and 
unbridged  streams  were  swum  or  waded; 
when,  instead  of  the  locomotive's  whistle, 
was  heard  the  dismal  howling  of  the  wolf  or  the 
far-off  screech  of  the  hungry  panther.  Rapid 
as  have  been  the  changes  and  great  the  im- 
provements in  this  section,  Crawford  is  only 
well  upon  her  course;  the  energies  which 
have  brought  her  to  her  present  state  will  not 
falter. 

"Lo!  our  land  is  like  an  eagle  whose  young  gaze 
Feeds  on  the  noontide   beams,  whose    golden 
plumes 
Float  moveless  on  the  storm,  and,  in  the  blaze 
Of  sunrise,  gleams  when   earth  is  wrapped  in 
gloom." 

This  civil  division  of  Crawford  County  forms 
no  inconsiderable  part  of  the  history  of  the 
great  commonwealth  of  Illinois.     No  portion 

*  By  W.  H.  Perrin. 


of  the  county,  nor  indee  1  of  the  State,  is  richer 
in  historical  interest.  It  contained  the  first 
seat  of  justice  of  the  county;  the  first  land 
office  established  in  the  State  was  located 
within  its  limits,  and  the  first  settlement 
made  in  the  county  was  in  what  is  now  La- 
motte  Township.  Here  were  erected  forts 
and  block-houses,  when  Indians  were  far 
more  plentiful  on  this  side  of  the  Wabash 
than  pale-faces,  and  here  transpired  some  of 
the  stirring  events  that  have  embellished 
with  interest  the  history  of  the  State. 

Lamotte  Township  lies  on  the  eastern  bor- 
der of  the  county  and  contains  much  fine 
productive  land.  Its  surface  beyond  the 
river  bottoms,  which  are  low  and  subject  to 
overflow,  is  generally  level  or  undulaling,  re- 
quiring little  artificial  drainage.  With  the 
exception  of  the  bottoms  above  alluded  to, 
our  idea  of  its  topography  does  not  fully  co- 
incide with  the  poet-laureate  of  Palestine 
when  he  penned  the  following  lines: 

"  Half  a  century  ago  I  lived  in  Egypt's  famed  land, 
Where  the  soil  was  composed  of  dark  loam  and  sand; 
There  were  swamps  on  this  hand  and  swamps  on  that, 
And  the  remainder  of  the  land  was  level  and  flat." 

The  township  lies  south  of  Hutsonville 
township,  west  of  the  Wabash  River,  north 
of  Montgomery  and  east  of  Robinson  town- 
ship. It  is  drained  principally  by  Lamotte 
Creek,  which  flows  in  a  southeasterly  course 


128 


HISTOKY  OF  CRAWFOIID  COUXTY. 


and  empties  into  the  Wabash  near  Palestine 
landing.  The  original  timber  growth  was 
oak,  iiickory,  walnut,  hackberry,  buckeye, 
sycamcre,  pecan,  cottoiiwood,  etc.,  etc.  Upon 
the  whole,  the  township  is  a  fine  agricultural 
region,  and  in  1880  had  a  popuhition  of  2,160 
souls — and  as  many  bodies.  The  S.  E.  and 
S.  E.  narrow  gauge  railroad  traverses  it  from 
east  to  west,  thus  affording  the  people  railroad 
communication  and  benefiting  the  township 
to  a  considerable  extent. 

Early  Settlement. — The  first  occupation 
by  white  people,  of  what  is  now  Lamotte 
Township,  is  veiled  somewhat  in  obscurity. 
Prior  to  the  war  of  1813  a  number  of  families 
were  living  in  this  region,  and  when  the  war 
broke  out,  they  congregated  where  Palestine 
now  stands,  and  built  a  fort  or  block-house. 
But  how  long  before,  white  people  lived 
here,  there  is  no  one  now  to  tell,  for  they  are 
o-athered  to  the  r  fathers.  It  is  believed  that 
as  far  back  as  1808  or  1809,  there  were  peo- 
ple of  our  own  kind  in  this  immediate  neigh- 
borhood, to  say  nothing  of  the  French,  who, 
as  they  were  numerous  about  Vincennes, 
mav  have  been  much  earlier,  and  very 
probably  were.  Many  believed  that  Joseph 
Lamotte  once  lived  in  this  portion  of  the 
county,  though  there  is  little  but  tradition, 
concerning  his  occupation  of  the  country.  The 
following  is  related  by  Mr.  Martin  Fuller,  of 
Monto-omery  Township,  who  married  Rosana 
Twomley.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Isaac 
Twomley,  who  kept  a  ferry  at  Vincennes  at  a 
very  early  day.  Twomley  married  the  widow 
of  Joseph  Lamotte,  and  of  this  marriage  was 
born  Rosana,  the  wife  of  Martin  Fuller.  Mr. 
Twomley  used  to  say  that  Lamotte  was  an 
Indian  interpreter,  and  spoke  seven  dialects 
of  the  Indian  language,  beside  English  and 
French,  and  that  the  Indians,  for  his  services 
as  interpreter  in  some  of  their  grand  pow- 
wows with  the  pale-faces,  had  given  him  all 
that  tract  of  country,  now  known  as  Lamotte 


Prairie.  But  when  they  saw  a  chance  of  sell- 
ing it  to  the  United  States  Government,  had 
watched  for  an  opportunity,  and  had  slain 
Lamotte.  They  threw  his  body  into  a  deep 
hole  of  water  in  the  creek  just  west  of  Pales- 
tine cemet'ry.  After  the  death  of  Lamotte, 
Twomley  was  made  Indian  interpreter.  He 
spoke  five  Indian  dialects  as  well  as  English 
and  French,  and  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Fuller, 
also  speaks  French  fluently. 

This  story  of  Lamotte,  of  course,  is  tra- 
ditional, as  there  are  none  now  living  who 
seem  to  know  anything  very  definite  con- 
cerning him,  beyond  the  fact  that  there  was 
once  such  a  man.  This,  as  stated  in  a  pre- 
ceding chapter,  we  learn  from  the  old  court 
records,  from  conveyances  of  land  made  by 
Lamotte.  It  is  probably  doubtful,  however, 
if  Lamotte  ever  lived  here,  notwithstanding 
the  fine  prairie  north  of  Palestine  still  bears 
his  name,  also  Lamotte  creek,  and  this  town- 
ship, together  with  the  old  and  original  fort 
which  stood  on  the  present  site  of  Palestine. 

It  is  a  generally  accepted  tradition,  and  it 
is  fast  becoming  a  tradition  only,  that  the 
Eatons  were  the  first  of  our  own  kind  to 
occupy  this  portion  of  the  county,  and  they 
are  believed  to  have  been  here  as  early  as 
1808-9.  They  were  a  large  family  of  large 
people,  and  possessed  most  extraordinarily 
lar^e  feet.  The  latter  was  a  distinguishing 
feature,  and  when  a  little  unpleasantness  oc- 
curred in  Fort  Lamotte,  and  the  Eatons  with- 
drew and  built  another  fort,  it  was  unani- 
mouslv  dubbed  Fort  Foot,  in  derision  of  the 
Eatons'  feet. 

Mr.  D.  W.  Stark,  an  old  and  well-known  citi- 
zen of  Palestine  for  many  years,  furnishes  us, 
throuo-h  Mr.  Finley  Paull,  the  following  re- 
garding the  early  settlement:  "There  must 
have  been  a  settlement  there  and  in  the 
vicinity,  reaching  back  toward  the  beginning 
of  the  century,  for  at  the  breaking  out  of  the 
war  of  1812  a  considerable  body  of  settlers 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


129 


assembled  at  Palestine,  where  thev  built 
two  forts  in  which  they  I'orteJ  during  the  war. 
One  of  the  forts,  I  think,  stood  somewhere  in 
the  southeast  of  the  present  town,  for  in  the 
fall  of  18",'0  I  well  recollect  seeing  some  of  the 
ruins  and  stoekade  still  standing.  This  fort 
was  called  Fort  Lamotte,  after  the  name  of 
the  prairie,  and  it  was  named  after  an  old 
Frenchman.  Where  the  other  fort  stood,  if  I 
ever  knew,  I  have  forgotten.  It  was  named 
Fort  Foot,  as  I  understood,  from  the  fact  of 
two  or  three  families  of  Batons  forting  in  it, 
who  were  all  noted  as  having  very  large  feet." 
The  Batons  were  pioneers  in  the  true  sense 
of  the  word,  and  had  gone  west — had  aban- 
doned home  and  the  signs  of  civilization,  and 
plunged  into  the  vast  solitudes,  in  order  to 
better  their  condition,  and  finally  secure 
homes  for  themselves  and  children.  These 
sturdy,  lone  mariners  of  the  desert  were 
men  of  action.  Not  very  social  in  their 
nature,  moody  and  almost  void  of  the  imagi- 
native faculty,  they  simply  whetted  their  in- 
stincts in  the  struggle  for  existence  atyainst 
the  wild  game,  the  ferocious  beasts  and  the 
murderous  savage.  They,  and  such  as  thev, 
laid  the  foundations  on  which  rests  the  civili- 
zation of  the  great  west.  They  took  their 
lives  in  their  own  hands,  as  it  were,  pene- 
trated the  desert  wilderness,  and  with  a  pa- 
tient energy,  resolution  and  self-sacrifice  that 
stands  alone  and  unparalleled,  worked  out  their 
allotted  tasks,  and  to-day,  we,  their  descend- 
ants, are  enjoying  the  fruitage  of  their  la- 
bors. 

As  we  have  before  stated,  the  Batons  were 
a  large  family,  and  consisted  of  the  patriarch, 
who  is  believed  to  have  been  named  Will- 
iam, and  several  sons,  among  whom  were 
John,  Job,  Benjamin,  Joseph,  William  and 
several  others.  It  is  not  known  of  a  certainty 
where  they  came  from,  but  it  is  believed 
they  were  either  from  Kentucky  or  North 
Carolina.     They  wore  in  the  fort  at  Palestine 


during  the  stormy  period  of  our  last  war  with 
England,  and  when  the  war  clouds  passed 
over  and  the  olive  branch  was  waved 
throughout  the  country,  wooing  the  red  man 
to  peaceful  sports,  as  well  as  the  belliger- 
ent nations  who  had  lately  measured  their 
strength  with  each  other,  and  the  people 
could  branch  out  from  the  forts,  with  none 
to  "  molest  or  make  them  afraid,"  then  the 
Batons  moved  out  and  scattered  in  different 
directions,  some  of  them  settling  in  Hutson- 
ville  township,  where  they  receive  furthe) 
mention.  One  or  two  of  the  Batons  weni 
killed  by  the  Indians  during  the  time  tho 
people  were  "  forted  "  at  Palestine,  which  is 
spoken  of  elsewhere  in  this  volume. 

Other  pioneers,  many  of  whom  lived  for 
awhile  in  the  fort,  were  Thomas  Kennedy, 
David  McGahey,  the  McCalls,  the  Brim- 
berrys,  James  and  Smith  Shaw,  J.  Veach,  the 
Millses,  George  Bathe,  J.  Purcell,  Jesse  Hig- 
gins,  Mrs.  Gaddis,  John  Garrard,  the  Woods, 
David  Reavill  and  others.  Thomas  Kennedy 
was  a  Baptist  preacher,  and  had  squatted  on 
a  place,  the  improvement  of  which  he  after- 
ward sold  to  John  S.  Woodwortli.  Kennedy 
then  settled  in  the  present  township  of  Mont- 
gomery. McGahey  was  a  prominent  man, 
and  opened  a  farm  south  of  Palestine,  on 
which  Wyatt  Mills  now  lives — himself  of  the 
original  pioneer  Mills  family.  McGahey 
served  in  the  Legislature,  was  connected  with 
the  land  office,  and  held  other  responsible 
positions.  George  Bathe  entered  land  with 
McGahey.  He  has  a  son,  George  Bathe,  Jr., 
now  77  years  old,  living  in  Palestine.  Smith 
Shaw,  after  times  became  quiet,  settled  in  the 
present  County  of  Bdgar,  where  he  made  his 
mark,  and  where  he  was  still  livino-  a  few 
years  ago,  when  we  wrote  the  history  of  that 
County.  John  Garrard  came  from  South 
Carolina,  and  was  here  as  early  as  1811.  He 
has  descendants  still  living  in  Palestine,  one  of 
■whom  is  proprietor  of    the    Garrard  House. 


130 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


/ 


John,  Joseph  and  Welton  Wood  lived  a  few 
miles  from  Palestine.  Welton  still  lives  in 
the  west  part  of  the  county.  David  Reavill 
was  born  in  Delaware,  and  came  to  Illinois  in 
1810,  stoppino-  at  Kaskaskia,  then  the  State 
capital.  When  the  war  broke  out  with  Eng- 
land, he  went  to  Vincennes  and  joined  the 
Rangers,  serving  with  them  until  peace  was 
made,  when  he  came  to  Palestine.  He  was 
killed  by  lightning,  a  circumstance  known  to 
many  of  the  old  citizens.  The  McCalls  (two 
brothers)  were  surveyors,  and  the  first  in  the 
county.  In  the  southeast  corner  of  Lamotte 
Township  stands  one  of  their  old  "witness 
trees,"  on  "  Unce  Jimmy  "  Westner's  place? 
and  is  the  only  one  in  the  county  known  to  be 
yet  standing.  Witness  trees  were  marked  by 
taking  off  the  bark  and  scratching  with  an 
iron  instrument  called  "three  fingers,"  form- 
ing a  cross.  It  was  a  mark  known  to  all 
government  surveyors,  and  when  made  upon 
a  tree,  though  the  bark  would  grow  over  it, 
the  mark  could  be  deciphered  a  hundred 
years  after  it  was  made.  Hence,  the  name  of 
witness  tree. 

Thomas  Gill  and  family,  and  John  S.  Wood- 
worth,  came  in  the  fall  of  1814,  and  were 
from  Mt.  Sterling,  Ky.  Mr.  Gill  settled  on  a 
farm  some  four  miles  northwest  of  Palestine, 
where  he  lived,  and  where  he  died  about  1840. 
He  had  a  numerous  family,  but  none  of  them 
are  now  in  the  township;  James,  the  only  one 
left,  lives  in  Cumberland  County.  Mr.  Gill 
had  served  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  and 
was  a  highly  respected  citizen  of  the  county. 
John  S.  Woodworth  married  a  daugiiter  of 
Gill's,  and  raised  a  large  family  of  children. 
But  three  of  them  are  living,  viz.:  Martin  and 
Leander  of  Palestine,  and  A.  P.  Woodworth, 
cashier  of  the  Robinson  bank.  The  first  pur- 
chase of  land  made  by  Mr.  Woodworth,  was 
the  squatter's  claim  of  Thos.  Kennedy  to  IGO 
acres.  When  it  came  in  market  he  purchased 
it,    and    had   to  pay    $6.10  per  acre  for  it,  a 


heavy  price  for  the  time.  Mr.  Woodworth 
was  the  second  sheriff  of  Crawford  County. 
He  was  not  an  office-seeker,  but  devoted 
his  time  and  attention  chiefly  to  agriculture. 
He  accumulated  a  large  estate  in  landed 
property. 

Edward  N.  Cullom  came  in  the  spring  of 
1814,  and  at  a  time  when  the  forts  were  still 
occupied  by  the  whites.  He  also  was  from 
Kentucky,  and  had  a  large  family.  Two  of 
his  sons  are  still  living — Leonard,  who  lives 
in  Lawrenceville,  and  George,  living  in  Fay- 
ette County.  Cullom  was  a  very  prominent 
man,  and  he  and  Judge  Joseph  Kitchell  were 
the  original  proprietors  of  the  town  of  Pales- 
tine. He  acquired  considerable  property  and 
purchased  large  tracts  of  land,  but  eventually 
lost  a  good  deal  of  it  through  betrayed 
trusts.  Much  is  said  of  the  Culloms  in  a  pre- 
ceding chapter. 

The  Kitchells  and  the  Wilsons  were  among 
the  prominent  families  of  the  county.  Will- 
iam Wilson,  the  father  of  W.  C.  Wilson  of 
Robinson,  came  here  in  1816,  and  was  from 
Virginia.  He  settled  at  Palestine  and  died 
in  1850.  James  H.  Wilson,  his  father,  came 
the  next  year,  1817,  and  was  the  first  probate 
jud;j;e  of  the  county.  His  sons  were  James 
H.,  Vastine  J.,  Presley  O.  and  Isaac  N.,  Gen. 
Guy  W.  Smith  married  a  daughter  of  Mr. 
Wilson.  They  are  all  dead,  except  Isaac  N., 
who  lives  in  Kansas.  William  Wilson's 
children  are  all  dead,  except  Robert  C,  Carl, 
Eliza  M.  Patton,  and  Jane,  the  latter  unmar- 
ried. Guy  S.  Wilson  of  Palestine,  is  a  son  of 
James  H.  Wilson  Jr.  Benjamin  Wilson's 
children  are  all  dead,  except  one  living  in 
California.  Presley  O.  Wilson  was  quite 
prominent;  was  county  judge  and  sheriff  one 
or  two  terms.  His  widow,  "  Aunt  Maria,"  as 
everybody  called  her,  is  living  in  Palestine. 

The  Kitchells  were  natives  of  New  Jersey. 
Judge  Joseph  Kitchell  emigrated  westward 
and  stopped  for  awhile  in   Hamilton    County 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUXTY. 


131 


Oliio;  from  i hence  he  moved  to  Indiana,  and 
in  1817,  came  to  Crawford  County,  locating 
in  P.ilestine.  He  lived  and  died  upon  the 
place  where  he  first  settled.  His  old  house  is 
still  standing  in  the  west  part  of  town,  on  the 
road  leading  out  to  Robinson.  He  was  the 
first  register  of  the  land  office  when  it  was 
established,  and  was  connected  with  it  for 
more  than  twenty  years.  He  afterward 
served  in  the  State  Legislature  and  held  other 
positions  of  honor  and  trust.  He  had  the  first 
mill,  probably,  in  the  county — a  horse  mill, 
but  an  important  institution  in  its  day;  really 
more  important  than  the  land  office  itself. 
Wickhfl'e  Kitchell  came  to  the  county  the 
next  year,  1818,  and  was  a  brother  to  Joseph. 
About  1838,  he  removed  to  Hillsboro,  111., 
with  his  whole  fainil}',  except  one  daughter, 
the  wife  of  Mr.  D.  W.  Stark.  He  was  the 
first  lawyer  in  Crawford  County,  and  was  at 
one  time  attorney-general  of  the  State.  His 
wife  died  at  Hilisboro,  and  he  died  at  Pana, 
111.,  at  the  age  of  82  years.  One  of  his  sons, 
Alfred,  was  circuit  judge  of  this  judicial  dis- 
trict at  one  time,  and  afterward  m  ived  to 
Galesburg,  111.,  where  he  died.  Another  son, 
Edward,  entered  the  army  at  the  beginning 
of  the  late  war,  and  rose  to  the  rank  of  brevet 
brigadier-geni^ral.  After  the  war  he  returned 
to  Olney,  his  former  home,  and  died  there  a 
few  years  later. 

Col.  John  Houston,  whom  the  citizens  of 
Palestine  well  remember,  and  himself  a  cit- 
izen of  the  place  for  n<.-arly  sixty  years,  be- 
longed to  the  Rangers  that  operated  in  this 
section  during  the  war  of  1812.  He  located 
here  permanently  about  1818,  and  engaged 
in  the  mercantile  business.  He  came  here 
just  when  he  was  most  needed,  and  his  finger- 
marks may  yet  be  seen,  tolling  the  story  of 
his  handiwork,  and  writing  his  epitaph  in  the 
hearts  of  many  who  are  now  reaping,  and  who 
will  in  the  future  enjoy  the  fruits  of  his  labor 
and  foresight.     He  served  the  county  in  many 


responsible  positions;  was  sheriff,  county 
treasurer,  served  in  the  State  Senate,  etc., 
but  it  was  as  a  msrchant  and  businessman  he 
was  best  known.  We  shall  speak  further  of 
him  under  the  business  of  Palestine.  Alex- 
ander M.  Houston  was  his  brother,  and  for 
years  his  partner  in  business,  a  soldier  in  the 
Black  Hawk  War,  and  a  prominent  citizen  of 
the  count}'.  Mr.  D.  W.  Stark  was  also  a 
partner  of  Col.  Houston's,  and  is  now  living 
in  Indiana.  To  him  we  are  indebted  for 
many  facts  pertaining  to  the  Houstons,  and 
other  early  settlers.  We,  however,  knew 
Col.  John  Houston  personally,  some  years 
ago,  and  can  say  much  to  his  honor  and  credit 
from  our  own  knowledge. 

The  Alexanders  were  another  of  the  promi- 
nent families  of  this  section,  and  must  have 
come  here  as  early  as  1825,  as  we  find  John 
C.  Alexander  the  representative  of  Crawford 
Countv,  in  the  Legislature,  at  the  session  of 
1826-1828.  Harmon  Alexander  also  repre- 
sented the  county  in  the  Legislature  some 
years  later.  They  were  from  Kentucky,  and 
have  descendants  still  in  the  county.  There 
are  many  more  pioneer  families  entitled  to 
mention  in  this  chapter,  but  we  have  been 
unable  to  learn  their  names,  or  anything  defi- 
nite concerning  them.  This  section  was  the 
first  settled  of  any  portion  of  the  county. 
For  years,  the  settlement  was  scattered 
around  Fort  Lamotte,  and  not  until  after  all 
danger  was  over,  consequent  upon  the  war  of 
1812,  did  the  settlers  begin  to  extend  their 
skirmish  line  from  the  base  of  operations — 
old  Fort  Lamotte.  As  new-comers  made 
their  appearance,  they  stopped  awhile  in  the 
vicinity,  until  homes  and  places  of  settle- 
ment were  selected.  Thus  it  was  that  nearly 
all  the  early  settlers  of  the  county  were  once 
settlers  of  this  town  and  township,  and  hence 
many  of  them  are  mentioned  in  other  chap- 
ters of  this  work.  Along  from  1825  to  1835, 
a  number    of    families   came,  who    have  been 


1"2 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


identified  prominently  with  the  town  and 
county.  Of  these  we  may  mention  the  La- 
g-ows,  Juda:e  Harper,  Finley  Paull  and  others, 
wlio  for  tifty  years  or  more  were,  and  are 
still,  a  part  of  the  country.  The  I^agows  for 
years  were  among  the  most  prominent  citi- 
zens and  business  men  of  Palestine.  Wilson 
Lao-ow  was  one  of  the  very  first  merchants 
in  the  county.  Judge  Harper  and  Finley 
Paull  are  among  the  oldest  citizens  of  the 
town  living.  They  came  here  young  men — 
they  are  old  now,  and  far  down  the  shady 
side  of  life,  with  the  evening  twilight  gather- 
ing around  them,  and  life's  last  embers  burn- 
ing low.  For  more  than  half  a  century 
Judge  Harper  has  lived  here,  and  has  held 
prominent  positions  in  the  county.  Mr. 
Paull  was  long  a  merchant,  bought  goods  in 
Cincinnati  and  Louisville,  and  hauled  them 
here  in  wagons.  In  closing  up  his  business, 
he  would  accept  in  payment  of  accounts  any- 
thing he  could  turn  into  money,  live  stock  in- 
cluded. Thus,  he  became  possesse  1,  like 
Jacob  of  old,  of  many  cattle.  These  he  used 
to  herd  on  the  prairie  where  Robinson  now 
stands. 

The  Seven  Jesses  were  as  noted  a  family 
in  Crawford  County,  as  the  family  of  Seven 
Oaks  in  England,  but  in  character,  they 
were  the  very  antipodes  of  the  latter.  There 
were  seven  brothers  of  them,  and  they  lived 
two  miles  south  of  Palestine.  Their  name 
was  Myers,  and  the  Christian  name  of  the 
eldest  was  Jesse.  A  very  strong  family  re- 
semblance existed  between  them,  and  hence 
they  finally  all  received  the  nick-name  of 
Jesse.  Gen.  Guy  Smith,  who  had  a  keen 
sense  of  the  ludicrous,,  was  the  first  to  give 
tliem  the  unanimous  name  of  Jesse,  on  ac- 
count of  their  strong  resemblance.  They 
had  many  peculiar  and  eccentric  traits,  one 
of  which  was,  theyalways  went  in  single  file, 
and  it  was  no  uncommon  thing  to  see  the 
seven  leave  home  together,   riding  invariably 


one  right  behind  another,  with  all  the  pre- 
cision and  regularity  of  a  band  of  Indians. 
They  were  coarse,  rude,  ungainly  and  wild 
as  the  game  they  hunted.  They  were  illit- 
erate, not  ignorant;  but  shrewd,  active, 
alert,  and  possessed  strong,  praetical,  com- 
mon sense.  Jess  went  to  Terre  Haute  just 
after  the  first  railroad  was  completed  into 
that  town.  When  he  returned  home  he  was 
asked  by  some  of  his  neighbors  if  he  saw  the 
railroad,  and  he  replied:  "  Yas,  by  hokey, 
and  it  beats  anything  I  ever  seed.  A  lot  of 
keridges  come  along  faster'n  a  boss  could 
gallop,  and  run  right  inter  a  house,  and  I 
thought  they  would  knock  hell  out  of  it, 
but  two  men  run  out  and  turned  a  little  iron 
wheel  round  this  way  (imitating  a  brakoman) 
and    the    demed    thing    stopped    stock    still. 

They  did   by  .     I'm   goin'  to   take   mam 

anfl  livd  to  see  'em  shore."  The  latter  were 
his  mother  and  sister.  At  another  time  Jess 
went  to  Vincennes,  and  stopped  at  Clark's 
hotel.  Next  morning  when  he  came  down 
stairs,  Mr.  Clark  said:  "Good  morning,  sir." 
Jesse  replied,  "  what  the  h — 1  do  you  say  good 
morning  for,  when  I  have  b(,en  here  all 
night?"  Clark  then  asked  him  if  he  would 
have  some  water   to   wash,    and    received  in 

response,    "  No,  by  !  we  Myerses  never 

washes."  Clark  saw  he  had  a  character,  and 
drew  him  out  in  conversation,  enjoying  his 
eccentricities  in  the  highest  degree. 

A  book  as  full  of  humor  as  Mark  Twain's 
"Innocents  Abroad,"  could  be  written  of  the 
sayings  and  doings  of  the  Seven  Jesses,  with- 
out exao-o-eratins  anv  of  their  characteristics. 
Thevall  lived  to  be  old  bachelors  before  they 
tried  the  slippery  and  uncertain  paths  of  mat- 
rimony;'Jess  was  the  first  to  make  a  break, 
as  the  bell-wether  always  leads  the  flock, 
and  he  was  over  thirty  when  he  married. 
How  well  he  liked  the  venture  is  indicated  iiy 
the  fact  that  the  others  went  and  did  like- 
wise. 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


133 


Laniotte  Township  contains  some  pre-his- 
toric  relics.  In  the  soutlieast  portion  of  the 
town  of  Palestine  there  was  a  mound,  now 
nearly  obliterated,  but  when  the  town  was 
laid  out,  was  in  a  fine  state  of  preservation. 
Judge  Harper  informs  us  it  was  some  sixty 
feet  in  diameter  at  the  base  and  at  least 
twelve  foet  high,  and  cone-shaped.  Upon  its 
summit  stood  an  oak  tree  about  three  feet 
through  at  the  stump,  which  was  cut  down 
by  Judge  Kitchell,  who  owned  the  land,  and 
made  it  into  rails.  When  Levi  Harper  built 
his  blacksmith  shop,  which  stood  on  rather 
low  ground,  he  hauled  forty  odd  wagon  loads 
of  dirt  from  this  mound  to  fill  up  and  level 
the  ground  around  his  shop.  In  so  doing 
many  human  bones  were  exhumed,  but  so 
long  had  they  been  under  ground,  that  as 
soon  as  they  were  exposed  to  the  atmosphere, 
they  crumbled  into  dust.  A  number  of  other 
mounds  south  and  west  of  the  town  are  still 
to  be  seen.  There  is  one  near  where  Judge 
Harper  now  lives,  which  has  been  nearly  lev- 
eled with  the  surface,  but  no  bones  have  been 
discovered.  Flint  arrow  heads,  however, 
•  have  been  found  in  quantities  in  the  imme- 
diate vicinity.  These  evidences  are  conclu- 
sive that  the  lost  race  once  inhabited  this 
region,  ages  before  it  was  occupied  by  the 
Anglo-Saxons.  But  they  have  faded  away 
from  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  have  left  no 
traces  behind  of  their  existence  save  the 
mounds  and  earthworks  found  in  many  parts 
of  the  country. 

Milk-sick. — That  scourge  of  the  western 
frontier,  "milk-sick,"  was  common  in  this 
portion  of  the  county,  and  the  early  settlers 
suffered  severely  from  its  effects.  Many  people 
died  of  thi?  worse  than  plague.  A  case  is 
related  of  Thos.  Gill's  butchering  a  beef,  and 
after  the  meat  was  dressed,  he  sent  a  quarter 
of  it  to  his  son-in-law,  John  AVoodworth.  But 
as  soon  as  he  looked  at  it  he  discovered  evi- 
dences  of  its  being  "milk-sick"    beef,    and 


would  not  take  it.  A  neighbor  who  happened 
to  be  present,  said  if  he  would  let  him  have  it 
he  would  risk  it  being  milk-sick  beef.  He  took 
it,  and  every  one  of  his  family  who  ate  of  it 
came  near  dying.  Thus  milk-sick  lay  in 
wait  for  man  and  beast  along  nearly  all  the 
streams  throughout  the  county,  and  often 
proved  as  fatal  as  the  horrible  malaria  which 
freighted  the  air,  floating  out  from  its 
noisome  lurking  places,  spreading  far  and 
wide  its  deadly  poison.  Milk-sick  is  a  dis- 
ease that  has  puzzled  the  wisest  medical  men 
for  years,  and  is  still  an  unsolved  question. 

The  early  life  of  the  people  of  Lamotte 
Township,  and  indeed,  of  Crawford  County, 
for  the  time  was  when  what  is  now  Lamotte 
Township  comprised  the  settled  portion  of 
the  county,  maybe  learned  by  a  brief  extract 
from  an  address  delivered  by  Hon.  O.  B. 
Ficklin,  before  the  old  settlers  of  Crawford 
County,  October  6,  1880.  Upon  that  occa- 
sion, Mr.  Ficklin  said:  "This  country  was 
taken  fiom  the  English  by  Gen.  George 
Rogers  Clark  in  1778,  and  the  people  heard 
of  it  in  the  older  settled  States,  though  there 
were  no  telegraph  lines  then  —  but  the  peo- 
ple heard  of  it  all  the  same.  The  Revolu- 
tionary soldiers  heard  of  this  Northwestern 
country,  and  the  news  was  transmitted  to 
Virginia,  to  the  Carolinas  —  all  over  the 
country,  everywhere.  To  be  sure  it  was  not 
done  then  as  it  is  now,  but  our  people  had 
sufficient  word  of  it.  They  knew  enough 
about  it.  They  had  heard  enough  about  it 
to  want  to  emigrate  to  the  new  country,  and 
we  are  a  wonderful  people  to  emigrate;  v?e 
go  everywhere;  we  penetrate  every  new 
country,  and  the  pioneers  started  from  Vir- 
ginia, they  started  from  Pennsylvania,  and 
from  the  Carolinas,  and  from  Georgia,  and  all 
that  Atlantic  belt  of  country,  and  came  out 
as  pioneers  to  this  newly  acquired  region. 
They  stopped  in  Ohio,  they  stopped  in  Indi- 
ana, they  stopped  in  Illinois — stopped  in  each 


134 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUXTY. 


successive  State  they  came  to.  A  few  peo- 
ple— pioneers,  men  and  women  of  nerve,  of 
pluck,  of  energy  and  industry  have  come 
here  and  settled  in  this  country,  dotted  around, 
some  on  the  Ohio,  some  on  the  Wabash  and 
some  on  llie  Mississippi  River,  and  from  this 
handful,  Illinois  has  grown  into  a  great 
State." 

What  was  it  stopped   the   stream   of  emi- 
gration in  this  particular    spot?     What    was 
there  here  to  tempt   emigrants  to    brave    all 
danger,  and  cause  tiiem  to  pause,  and  fix  here 
the  nucleus  around  which  all  this  present  peo- 
ple and   their    wealth    has    gathered?     They 
could  not  see  the  toil  and  danger  that  lurked 
upon  every  hand,  yet  they  could  see   enough, 
one  would  think,  to  appal  the  stoutest  heart. 
The  wily  and  treacherous  savage  was  here,  the 
horrible  malaria  was  in  the  air  they  breathed, 
the  howling,    and    always   hungry    wolf  and 
the    soft-footed    panther  crouched     in    every 
thicket,  and  scores  of  other  impediments  were 
encountered  at  every  step.     Then   what  was 
the  attraction  ?     Doubtless,  it  was    the   broad 
expense  of  rolling  prairie,  the  primeval  forests 
that  towered  along  the   Wabasli  and  its  trib- 
utaries, combining  a  vision  of  loveliness  con- 
vincing  to  the  pioneer   fathers,    that   if  the 
Garden  of  Eden  was  not  here,  then  there  was 
a  mistake  as  to  its  place  of  location.     Imbued 
witii  this  idea,  when  a  town  was  laid  out,  they 
caled  it  Palestine,  after  the  capital  city  of  the 
Holy  Land.     Considering  all   the  difficulties 
under  which  these    "strangers  in   a   strange 
land  "  labored,  it  is  a  wonder  indeed  that  they 
ever   came   to   this    earthly    paradise,    or    re- 
mained after  they  came.     But  the   pioneers, 
with  something  of  that  spirit  with  which  the 
poet  invests  Rhoderick  Dhu 

"  If  a  path  be  dangerous  known, 
The  danger's  self  is  lure  aione," 

faced  the  perils  of  "flood    and   field,"  whollv 
indifferent    to,  if    not    actually   courting  the 


danger  that  met  them  on  every  side.  Such 
as  they  were  they  had  to  be,  in  order  that 
they  tiiiglit  blaze  the  way  into  the  heart  of 
the  wilderness  for  the  coming  hosts  of  civili- 
zation. 

Cotton  was  extensively  grown  here  in  early 
times,  not  so  much  as  an  article  of  commerce 
as  to  satisfy  the  necessities  of  the  times.  It 
was  the  custom  then  for  each  family  to  manu- 
facture their  own  clothing,  and  to  this  end 
cotton  was  cultivated  to  a  greater  or  less 
extent  by  every  settler  who  made  any  pre- 
tensions to  farming,  while  some  planted  large 
crops  of  this,  now  great  staple.  Mr.  Wiley 
Emmons  informed  us  that  he  has  seen  as 
much  as  seventy  acres  of  cotton  in  one  field. 
Sand  prairie  produced  it  well,  yielding  as 
much  as  200  pounds  per  acre.  Half  that 
amount  was  the  usual  crop  on  ordinary  land. 
William  Norris  put  up  the  first  cotton  giti  in 
that  portion  of  the  county  now  embraced  in 
Lawrence  County.  But  experience  devel- 
oped the  fact  that  the  county,  upon  the  whole, 
was  not  adapted  to  cotton  growing,  and  as  a 
crop  it  was  eventually  abandoned. 

The  fii  St  school  in  Lamotte  township  was 
tau.tjht  in  Palestine,  as  the  early  settlement 
encircled  that  place.  The  township  now  h.is 
a  comfortable  school  building  in  each  neigh- 
borhood, and  is  provided  with  excellent 
schools.  The  early  schools  will  be  more  par- 
ticularly mentioned  in  connection  with  the 
history  of  the  town. 

A  village  called  "  Bolivar,"  was  staked  off 
in  an  early  day  on  Lamotte  Prairie,  on  the 
high  ground  near  the  north  end  of  the  Monre 
pond.  But  it  was  never  regularly  laid  out, 
nor  otherwise   improved. 

Churches. — The  early  preacher,  as  "one 
crying  in  the  wilderness,"  came  with  the  tide 
of  immigration,  and  the  pioneers  received 
ghirlly  his  spiritual  counsels.  Mr.  Samuel 
Park,  at  an  old  settler's  meeting,  gives  a  true 
picture  of  the  frontier  preacher  in  the  follow- 


a  f^  Td^'^^-V^Cc^C^TPlyi^ 


HISTORY  OF  CKAWFOUD  COUNTY. 


137 


ing:     "But  see  yomlcr  in  tlie  distance,  winJ- 
ing  along  the  path  that  leads  to  the  cabin,  is 
a  stranger  on  horseback.     He  is  clad  in  liotne- 
spun,  has  on  a  plain,  straight- breasted  coat  and 
a  broad  brimmed  hat,  and  is  seated  on  a  large 
and  well-filled  pair  of  saddle-bags.     Ah!  that 
is  the  pioneer  preacher,  hunting  up   the   lost 
sheep  in  the  wilderness.     He  brings  glad  tid- 
ings from  friends  far  away,   back   in   the   old 
home  of  civilization.     Not  only  so,  but  he 
brings  a  message  from  the   celestial   regions, 
assuring  the  brave  pioneer  of  God's  watchful 
care  of  him  and  his  household,  telling  him  of 
God's  promise  of  deliverance    and   salvation 
from  all  sin  to  all  who  faithfully  combat  and 
overcome  the  evils  with  which  they  are   sur- 
rounded.    Most  of  those   brave   spirits   have 
alreadj'  realized  the  truths  of  the   message 
they   bore  by    entering    upon    their    reward. 
Others  are  still  westward  bound  over  the  un- 
explored plains  of  time  toward    the    setting 
sun.     Soon,  very  soon,   they   will   reach   that 
point  where  the  sun  will  set  to  those  old  pio- 
neers   to    rise  no  more.     Already   their  tot- 
tering limbs  show  weariness  from  many  hard- 
fought  battles,  and  their  eyes    have    become 
dim  to  the  beauties  of  this  world."     Such  was 
the  pioneer  preacher,  and  in  his  humble  way, 
he  did  more  to  advance  civilization  than  any 
other  class  that  penetrated  the    wilderness    of 
the  west.     He  may  have  been  very   ignorant, 
but  he  was  wholly  honest  and  sincerely  hum- 
ble.    Generally  illiberal  and  full  of  severity, 
and  warped   and   deformed   with   prejudices, 
he  took  up  the  cross  of  his  Master,  seized  the 
sword  of  Gideon  and  smote  His  Satanic  Maj- 
esty  wherever  he  could    find    him.     But    he 
was  a  God-fearing  good  man,  and  but  few,  if 
any  ministerial  scandals  were  known. 

The  Methodists  and  the  Hardshell  Baptists 
were  cotemporaneons  in  their  coming,  and,  as 
one  informed  us,  "  the  Methodists  shouting, 
and  the  Hardshells  singing  their  sermons 
through  their  nose,  but  in  their  different  fields 


of  usefulness,  they  dwelt  together  in  true 
Christian  love  and  friendship."  Thomas 
Kennedy,  who  was  among  the  very  early  set- 
tlers of  this  section,  was  a  Hardshell  preacher, 
and  "old  Father"  McCord,  John  Fox  and 
John  Stewart  were  early  Methodist  preachers. 
These  veteran  soldiers  of  the  Cross  first 
preached  the  Gospel  to  the  people  of  what 
now  forms  Lamotte  and  Montgomery  town- 
ships. But  after  this  long  lapse  of  years,  it  is 
hard  to  say  when  or  where  the  first  church 
society  was  organized,  whether  in  Palestine 
or  in  the  adjoining  neighborhoods.  Weshall 
not  attempt  to  decide  the  question,  but  give 
brief  sketches,  so  far  as  we  have  been  able  to 
obtain  them,  of  the  churches  in  the  town  and 
township. 

There  are  some  four  or  five  church  buildings 
in  the  township,  outside  of  Palestine,  but  the 
original  organization  of  the  difi^erent  churches 
can  not,  in  all  cases,  be  given.  The  old 
Lamotte  Baptist  church,  originally  organized 
by  Elder  Daniel  Parker  in  a  very  early  day, 
was  no  doubt  the  first  church  in  the  town- 
ship, but  it  has  long  since  become  extinct, 
through  death  of  members,  removals,  and  the 
formation  of  other  churches.  But  they  once 
had  a  church  building  on  Lamotte  Prairie  and 
a  large  congregation. 

East  Union  Christian  Church  in  the  south 
part  of  the  township,  was  organized  in 
1848,  by  Elder  John  Bailey,  with  fifty  mem- 
bers. It  has  prospered,  and  has  now  about 
120  members.  Their  first  meetings  were  held 
in  a  log  school-house,  and  in  1862,  their  pres- 
ent frame  church  was  erected  at  a  cost  of 
about  $1,000.  The  present  pastor  is  Elder 
J.  T.  G.  Brandenburg.  The  pastors  since  its 
organization,  have  been  Elders  John  Bailey, 
L.  Thompson,  John  Mullias,  David  Clark, 
G.  W.  Ingersoll,  John  T.  Cox,  J.  H.  Sloan, 
J.  Chowning,  Jacob  Wright,  O.  T.  Azbill, 
John  Ingle,  P.  E.  Cobb,  J.  J.  Lockhart,  F.  G. 
Roberts,  and  J.  T.  G.  Brandenburg,  the  pres- 


138 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUXTY. 


ent  pastor.  A  Sunday-school  was  organized 
in  1873,  and  lias  a  regular  attendance  of  about 
fifty,  under  the  superintendence  of  John 
Miller. 

Richwoods  Baptist  Church  is  situated  in 
the  southeast  corner  of  the  township,  and  was 
founded  in  the  fall  of  1871,  by  Elder  D.  Y. 
Allison,  with  eight  original  members.  The 
first  meetings  were  held  in  the  Harding  school- 
house.  In  1873  the  congregation  built  a  good, 
substantial  frame  church.  The  pastors  have 
been  Elders  D.  Y.  Allison,  J.  L.  Cox,  Jacob 
Clements,  and  Isaiah  Greenbaugh.  In  1881 
it  had  36  members,  and  at  the  present  time  is 
without  a  pastor. 

There  are  two  church  buildings  in  the 
north  part  of  the  township:  the  Union  church 
at  the  Jack  Oak  Grove  cemetery,  and  the 
Dunkard  church  near  by.  The  circumstances 
attending  the  formation  and  building  of  these 
churches  were  as  follows:  About  the  year 
1870-71  there  was  quite  a  revival  of  religion 
held  on  "  Rogue's  Island,"  as  it  is  called,  at  the 
old  Wright  school-house,  under  the  auspices 
of  the  New  Lights.  The  religious  interest 
awakened  suggested  the  thought  of  erecting  a 
church  building.  As  the  subject  was  can- 
vassed sentiment  became  divided  as  to  the  spot 
where  the  church  should  be  located.  Some 
wanted  it  on  the  island  where  the  revival  had 
been  held,  while  another  faction  insisted  on 
having  it  at  the  Jack  Oak  cemetery,  inas- 
much as  the  latter  was  an  old  burying  ground. 
The  controversy  finally  culminated  in  the 
building  of  two  churches,  one  at  the  cemetery, 
and  the  other  a  little  east,  on  the  old  State 
road.  Both  were  erected  by  a  general  sub- 
scription from  all  denominations,  and  were 
built  by  the  same  carpenter  in  the  summer  of 
1871.  About  1875,  the  one  erected  on  the 
State  road  was  burned  down,  and  has  never 
been  rebuilt.  The  one  built  at  the  cemetery  is 
^^till   standing,    is  open  to  all    denominations, 


but  is  used  chiefly  by  New  Lights  and  the 
Methodists. 

The  Jack  Oak  Grove  Cemetery  is  one  of 
the  oldest  burying  grounds  in  the  county,  and 
contains  the  mouldering  dust  of  many  of  the 
pioneers  of  this  township.  Some  of  their 
graves  are  unmarked  and  unknown,  and  their 
fast  receding  memories  are  alike  unhonored 
and  unsung.  They  quietly  sleep  in  this  lonely 
graveyard  where  the  grass  grows  rank  with 
the  vapors  of  decaying  mortality,  without  so 
much  as  a  rude  boulder  to  mark  the  spot 
where  they  lie.  Here  rests  Thomas  Gill,  a 
Revolutionary  soldier  who  fought  under  Gen. 
Putnam,  and  around  him  sleep  some  of  the  red 
sons  of  the  forest,  who,  from  this  quiet  spot, 
took  their  flight  to  the  happy  hunting 
grounds,  so  often  described  in  the  rude  wild 
eloquence  of  the  medicine  men.  But  not  all 
of  the  graves  here  are  neglected.  Many  are 
marked  by  stones,  moss-grown  from  age,  with 
dates  running  back  to  1835-30.  There  also 
are  some  very  handsome  stones  and  monu- 
ments. When  the  first  burial  was  made,  is 
not  known,  but  many  who  died  in  this  portion 
of  th3  township  in  early  days  were  interred  in 
this  cemetery.  Several  Indians  were  buried 
here,  which  shows  its  age  as  a  place  of  sepul- 
ture. Side  by  side  the  white  and  red  man 
sleep,  and  "  six  feet  of  earth  make  them  all 
of  one  size." 

The  Dunkards  had  an  interest  in  the  Jack 
Oak  Grove  church  when  first  built,  but  there 
were  too  many  interested  to  suit  them,  as  they 
could  not  alwHys  have  the  use  of  it  when  they 
wanted  it.  Hence,  in  the  summer  of  lS8'i, 
they  built  a  church  of  their  own  in  the  vicin- 
ity, which  is  a  neat  and  handsome  frame 
building. 

Swearingen  Chapel,  Methodist  Episcopal, 
has  been  recently  built,  and  is  situated  in  the 
southwest  part  of  the  township.  It  was  built 
principally  by   Samuel  Swearingen.     Rev.  J. 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


139 


B.  Reeder  was  the  fiist,  and  is  the  present 
pastor. 

Harmony  Church  is  located  in  the  extreme 
northwest  corner  of  the  township,  and  is  a 
union  church.  It  was  built  by  general  sub- 
scription and  is  open  to  all  denominations 
wlio  choose  to  occupy  it.  But  it  is  used 
mostly  by  the  United  Brethren,  Methodists 
and  New  Lights.  It  is  a  neat  and  substantial 
frame  building,  and  will  comfortably  seat 
about  two  hundred  persons. 

The  old  Wabash  Valley  Railroad  which  is 
noticed  at  some  length  in  a  preceding  chap- 
ter, created  a  great  interest  in  this  portion  of 
the  county  in  its  day.  As  a  railroad  project 
it  grew  out  of  the  old  internal  improve- 
ment system  of  the  State,  and  was  inaugurated 
as  early  as  ]S50.  About  1854  work  com- 
menced on  it  in  this  county,  and  much  of  the 
grading  was  done,  and  the  most  sanguine 
hopes  entertained  of  its  ultimate  completion. 
An  amount  of  money,  aggregating  $60,000 
was  subscribed  to  the  enterprise,  mostly  in 
this  portion  of  the  county.  A  corps  of  men, 
were  sent  here  to  take  charge  of  the  work. 
They  opened  an  office  in  Palestine,  and  in- 
stead of  pushing  the  work  with  energj',  they 
spent  most  of  their  time  in  town,  drinking, 
carousing,  and  in  "riotous  living."  The  funds 
disappeared  faster  than  the  enterprise  pro- 
gressed. Nearly  enough  money  had  been 
subscribed  along  the  line  to  have  built  the 
road,  had  it  been  judiciously  and  economi- 
cally used.  But  it  was  squandered,  and  the 
project  of  building  the  Wabash  Valley  Rail- 
road finally  abandoned.  The  old  grade  is  still 
to  be  seen,  an  eye-sore  to  the  people  of  this 
section,  and  a  daily  reminder  of  "  what  might 
have  been."  Later,  when  the  project  was 
revived  under  the  Paris  &  Danville  Railroad, 
in  building  the  same,  it  diverged  from  the  old 
Wabash  grade  a  little  south  of  Hutsonvillo, 
and  run  to  Robinson,  leaving  this  township 
out  in  the  cold.     It  was  not  until  the  building: 


of  the  Springfield,  Effingham  &  Southeastern 
narrow-guage  railroad  that  Lamotte  Township 
and  Palestine  received  raiboad  communica- 
tion with  the  outside  world. 

Trimble  station  is  on  the  Wabash  Railroad 
just  on  the  line  between  Lamotte  and  Robin- 
son Townships,  but  most  of  the  town,  if  town 
it  can  be  called,  is  on  the  Robinson  side  of  the 
line.  It  consists  of  merely  a  store,  post-office, 
a  shop  or  two,  a  saw  mill,  Harmony  church, 
and  some  half  a  dozen  dwellings. 
"  I  can  not  throw  my  staff  Aside, 

Or  wholly  quell  the  hope  divine, 
That  one  delight  awaits  me  yet,  — 

A  pilgrimage  to  Palestine." 

Palestine. — The  town  of  Palestine,  the  orig- 
inal capital  of  the  county,  and  fifty  or  sixty 
years  ago  one  of  the  most  important  towns 
in  the  State,  was  laid  out  on  the  19th  and 
20th  days  of  May,  1818,  by  Edward  N.  Cul- 
lom  and  Joseph  Kitchell,  the  owners  of  the 
land,  and  David  Porter,  agent  for  the  county. 
The  original  plat  embraced  lUO  lots  of  ground, 
each  fronting  75  feet,  and  142  feet  deep, 
with  the  public  square  containing  two 
acres.  This  was  Palestine  as  it  was  laid  out 
sixty-five  years  ago.  Several  additions  have 
since  that  time  been  made,  but  they  are  not 
pertinent  to  this  sketch.  Of  the  first  build- 
ings and  the  first  business  we  have  been  un- 
able to  gather  much  satisfactory  information. 
A  communication  written  by  D.  W.  Stark, 
Esq.,  to  ^h:  Finley  Paull,  who  has  taken  an 
active  interest  in  aiding  us  in  our  researches, 
gives  some  interesting  facts  of  the  early  busi- 
ness. We  make  the  following  extract  from 
his  communication  to  Mr.  Paull: 

"About  1818-19  John  Houston,  in  connec- 
tion with  Francis  Dickson,  of  Vincennes, 
purchased  lot  No.  Ill,  in  Palestine,  built  a 
house  intended  for  dwelling  and  store-room 
combined;  finished  off  the  south  room  on  the 
corner  for  a  store — the  room  was  about  10  or 
IS   feet  square.     In  the  year  1819,  or  in  the 


14U 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNl'V. 


beginning  of  1820  they  brought  on  a  stock  of 
goods  to  Palestine.  This,  I  believe  was  the 
first  stock  of  goods  ever  in  Palestine,  or,  as 
far  as  I  know,  ever  on  the  west  side  of  the 
river,  north  of  Vincennes.  John  Houston 
married  my  oldest  sister,  Jane  M.  Stark,  in 
the  spring  of  1831.  They  were  ever  after 
residents  of  Palestine  until  their  deaths  a  few 
years  ago. 

"  John  and  Alexander  Houston  were  the 
sons  of  Robert  Houston,  a  minister  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  who  broke  off  from  the 
church  in  Kentucky,  in  the  year  1803,  at  the 
time  Stone,  Dunlevy,  McNemar  and  others 
did.  Houston  embraced  the  Shaker  faith, 
moved  to  the  Wabash  country  about  1806. 
He  located  at  the  old  Shaker  town,  to  which 
point  a  considerable  body  of  Shakers  soon 
collected  and  built  the  old  Shaker  village.  A 
few  years  later,  Houston  for  some  reason  or 
other  left  the  Wabash,  and  went  to  reside  at 
the  Shaker  village,  in  Logan  County,  Ken- 
tucky, where  he  lived  until  his  death  at  the 
advanced  age  of  95  years.  John  and  Alex- 
ander Houston  both  left  the  Shakers  when 
quite  young — before  they  were  scarcely 
grown.  Alexander  left  a  short  time  first, 
going  to  Nashville,  Tenn.,  to  an  uncle  who  re- 
sided there.  John,  when  he  left,  remained 
on  the  Wabash,  and  when  the  war  of  1813 
broke  out  joined  the  Rangers  and  continued 
in  the  service  until  peace  in  the  beginning  of 
1815.  Then  for  three  or  four  years  was  en- 
gaged in  running  barges  and  keel-boats  on 
the  Ohio  and  Wabash  rivers,  in  connection 
with  an  uncle  of  the  same  name,  who  lived 
in  Mason  County,  Ky.,  but  who  afterward 
moved  to  Palestine  and  died  there — the  fath- 
er-in-law of  David  Logan. 

"Alexander  M.  Houston  in  a  short  time 
after  going  to  Nashville,  entered  the  regular 
army  where  he  remained  for  seven  or  eight 
years,  rose  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant  and 
quartermaster,  and  then    resigned.     He  came 


to  Palestine,  and  went  into  partnership  with 
his  brother  John  (wlio  had  bought  out  Dick- 
son's interest),  probably  about  1833.  The  two 
brothers  remained  in  business  together  in 
Palestine  until  1835,  when  Alexander  moved 
to  Rockville,  Ind.,  where  he  lived  for  some 
years,  but  his  wife's  health  failing,  he  re- 
turned to  Palestine,  where  she  afterward  died. 
He  finally  married  again,  moved  to  the  State 
of  New  York,  and  died  there.  Neither  of  the 
Houstons  had  any  children;  .John  was  up- 
ward of  86  when  he  died,  and  Alexander  was 
76;  both  they  and  their  wives  are  dead,  and 
both  families  are  extinct. 

"  My  father,  David  W.  Stark,  moved  from 
Mason  County,  Ky.,  to  Palestine  in  the  fall  of 
1830,  and  built  a  residence  east  and  directly 
across  the  street  from  the  old  Wilson  tavern. 
My  mother  died  in  1833,  and  a  year  or  two 
later  my  father  married  a  widow  Neeley,  who 
resided  at  the  head  of  Laraitte  prairie,  where 
he  died  in  the  year  1816.  I  went  to  reside 
with  John  Houston  in  1831,  when  I  was  about 
fifteen  years  old.  I  remained  with  him  until 
I  was  married  in  1831,  and  continued  business 
with  him  and  Alexander  Houston  until  1839, 
when  I  removed  to  Rockville,  Lid.,  where  I 
have  since  lived.  I  am  now  77  years  old,  and 
the  last  of  my  father's  family  that  is  alive. 

"As  it  may  be  of  some  interest  to  you  to 
know,  I  think  I  can  give  you  the  names  of  at 
least  nine-tenths  of  the  heads  of  families,  re- 
sidinof  in  Palestine  in  1830.  They  areas  fol- 
lows:  Joseph  Kitchell,  Wickliffe  KitchcU, 
Mrs.  Nancy  Kitchell  and  family,  shea  widow, 
Edward  N.  Cullom,  James  Otey,- James  Wil- 
son, Wm.  Wilson,  David  Stewart,  Dr.  Ford, 
Edward  N.  Piper,  Daniel  Boatright,  David 
W.  Stark,  Guy  W.  Smith,  George  Calhoun, 
John  Houston,  Robert  Smith — the  t^vo  latter 
unmarried." 

These  lengthy  extracts  give  much  of  the 
early  history  of  Palestine,  when  it  was  a 
strao-o-ling  village,  and  the  backwoods  county 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


141 


seat  of  a  realm  of  almost  undefined  bounda- 
ries. From  a  series  of  articles  published  in 
the  Robinson  Artjim  some  years  ago,  entitled, 
"  Palestine  Forty  Years  Ago,"  we  gather  some 
items  of  interest.  From  them  we  learn  that 
in  18.i"2,  Palestine  was  a  place  of  some  five 
or  six  hundred  inhabitants,  and  contained 
five  dry  goods  stores,  two  groceries,  two  sad- 
dle shops,  three  blacksmith  shops,  one  car- 
penter shop,  one  cabinet  maker  shop,  one 
wagon  shop,  one  cooper  shop,  one  tailor  shop, 
one  hatter  shop,  two  shoe  shops,  two  tan 
yards,  two  mills  with  distilleries  attached,  one 
cotton  gin,  one  carding  machine,  two  taverns 
and  one  church. 

Palestine  was  an  important  place  then — a 
more  important  place  than  Hutsonville  ever 
was,  for  it  was  the  county  seat,  and  this  gave 
it  an  air  of  great  dignity.  The  businessmen 
could  number  among  their  customers  men 
who  lived  twenty-five  and  thirty  miles  dis- 
tant. The  merchants  were  John  Houston  & 
Co.,  Uan forth  &  JIcGahey,  Wilson  Lagow, 
.Tames  &  Mauz}',  A.  B.  Winslow  &  Co.,  Otey 
&  Waldrop,  Ireland  &  Kitchell.  The  part- 
ner of  Ireland  was  J.  II.  Kitchell.  Thej' 
bought  up  and  loaded  a  flat  boat  with  pro- 
duce, and  Asa  Kitchell  started  with  it  to  New 
Orleans.  It  is  a  fact  remembered  still  by 
many  of  the  old  citizens,  that  he  nor  the  lioat 
were  ever  after  heard  of.  The  suppositiim 
was  that  the  boat  was  swamped  and  all  on 
board  lost,  or  that  it  was  captured  by  river 
pirates  and  the  crew  murdered. 

Of  the  two  mills,  one  was  an  o,\-mill,  the 
power  made  by  oxen  upon  a  tread-wheel,  and 
was  owned  by  John  Houston  &  Co.,  but  was 
being  run  by  James  and  Peter  Higgins.  It 
had  a  distillery  in  connection  with  it,  also  in 
ojjeration.  The  other  was  a  horse-mill,  and 
belonged  to  Joseph  Kitchell,  but  was  rented 
to  one  Morris.  A  distillery  w.ts  in  operation 
in  Qonnection  with  it  also.  Morris  died,  and 
bijth    mill     and    distillery    ceased    operation. 


Corn  was  then  cheap  and  plenty,  and  making 
whisky  was  profitable.  It  was  shipped  to 
New  Orleans  mostly — what  was  not  used  at 
home  as  antidote  for  snake  bites  (!)  only.  An 
incident  is  related  of  the  proprietor  of  a  dis- 
tillery being  reproved  by  his  pastor  for  fol- 
lowing a  business,  even  then  considered  disre- 
putable and  inconsistent  with  religious  teach- 
ings. He  listened  attentively  to  the  holy 
man,  and  then  informed  him  that  he  was 
shipping  it  down  south  to  kill  Catholics. 
There  is  no  record  of  what  further  took  place, 
but  as  Protestant  ministers  then  were  more 
prejudiced  against  Catholics,  if  possible,  than 
now,  it  is  supposed  the  preacher  considered 
that  the  end  justified  the  means,  and  the  man 
might  continue  the  business.  The  ox-mill 
stood  for  many  years,  and  furnished  much  of 
the  flour  and  meal  for  the  surrounding  coun- 
try. It  was  afterward  converted  into  a  steam- 
mill,  and  is  still  standing,  but  is  old  and 
rickety,  and  belongs  to  Mrs.  Noll.  Reuben 
Condit  built  a  mill  in  1850-52.  It  is  now 
owned  by  MiesenheKler  &  Son,  and  stands  in 
the  southeast  part  of  town.  It  is  a  frame 
building,  and  still  doing  a  good  business.  A 
saw-mill  is  connected  with  it. 

The  taverns  were  owned  Ijy  the  AVilsons 
and  Elisha  Fitch.  That  one  owned  by  Wil- 
son changed  hands  frequently,  and  became 
the  Garrard  House.  I.  N.  Wilson  run  it  for 
years,  and  made  money  at  the  business.  It 
was  a  great  place  of  resort  for  a  hundred 
miles  around.  People  who  came  to  buy  land 
and  to  attend  court  stopped  at  it,  and  it  was 
often  the  scene  of  balls  and  parties,  grand 
and  gorgeous  for  a  backwoods  cotnmunitv. 
It  was  the  stage  stand,  and  this  brought  it  all 
the  transient  custom.  The  old-fashioned  sign 
swung  in  front  of  both  these  oM-fasliioned 
taverns.  The  device  on  Wilson's  was  the 
rising  sun,  and  that  on  Fitc'h's  the  moon  a 
few  d.iys  old.  As  he  had  but  little  custom 
compared    to  Wdsun,  the    boys   called  it    the 


142 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


"  Dry-moon  tavern."  The  Garrard  House  is 
still  in  operation,  but  the  gay  times  it  once 
knew  it  now  knows  no  more. 

Palestine  was  incorporated  by  an  act  of  the 
general  assembly,  February  16,  1857,  and 
organized  under  special  charter  in  April  fol- 
lowing-. It  continued  under  this  organization 
until  the  third  Tuesday  in  April,  1ST7,  when 
it  was  re-organized  under  the  general  law, 
or  incorporating  act,  and  officers  were  elect- 
ed accordiuQ-ly.  The  present  board  of  trus- 
tees are  Andrew  Saulesbury,  Wm.  R.  Eni- 
rnons,  R.  H.  Kitchell,  John  W.  Patton,  and 
Amos  Miescnhelder,  of  which  Andrew  Saules- 
bury is  president,  Amos  Miesenhelder,  treas- 
urer, and  Wm.  Alexander,  clerk. 

But  little  is  known  of  the  early  schools  of 
Palestine.  George  Calhoun  taught  in  the 
town  as  early  as  1820;  but  little  else  can  be 
ascertained  of  him  and  his  school.  As  early 
as  1830  the  Masons  and  school  board  owned 
a  building,  which  was  used  jointly  as  a 
Masonic  lodge  and  a  school  house,  the  Masons 
occupying  the  upper  part,  and  the  school  the 
lower.  The  lodge  had  a  large  membership 
then,  but  many  moving  away,  and  others  dy- 
ing, the  lodge  finally  ceased  to  exist.  The 
building  was  used  for  school  purposes  until  it 
became  too  small,  and  after  the  county  seat 
w:  s  moved  to  Robinson,  the  old  court  house 
was  used  some  time  as  a  school  building. 
The  present  school-house  was  built  about 
1870-72,  and  is  a  substantial  two-story  frame. 
The  school  has  an  attendance  of  some  two  or 
three  hundred  children.  Prof.  James  A. 
ISIaxwell  is  principal,  and  Prof.  Bussard,  Miss 
Mary  Goram  and  Miss  Lizzie  Alexander, 
assistant  teachers.  The  school  building  oc- 
cupies the  old  public  square,  which  makes  a 
beautiful  school  yard. 

Palestine  in  early  days  was  the  Paris  of 
Illinois;  it  was  the  center  of  fashion,  of  wealth, 
pleasure  and  social  enjoyment.  Many  of 
its  citizens  were  cultured,  educated  people. 


belonging  to  the  very  best  class  of  society, 
and  ranking  among  the  aristocracy  of  the 
country.  While  this  was  true,  however,  of  a 
large  class,  there  was  another  class,  and  quite 
as  large,  that  were  just  the  opposite  in  every- 
thing. They  were  the  fighting,  roystering, 
drinking,  devil-may-care  fellows  always  to  be 
found  in  frontier  towns.  To  hunt  a  little, 
frolic  much,  go  to  town  often  and  never  miss 
a  muster  or  general  election  day,  and  get 
"glorious"  early,  and  fight  all  day  for  fun, 
was  the  pleasure  and  delight  of  their  lives. 
At  musters  and  elections  they  had  a  glorious 
picnic  from  "early  morn  to  dewy  eve,"  and 
they  made  ihe  most  of  it.  But  such  charac- 
ters do  not  last  long,  and  generally  follow  the 
ffame  westward. 

The  time  was  when  Palestine  was  a  place 
of  considerable  business.  For  years  it  was 
the  only  place  in  a  large  area  of  country 
where  pork  was  bought,  packed  and  shipped. 
It  was  the  first  place  in  the  county  to  pur- 
chase and  ship  wheat.  It  carried  on  a  large 
trade  in  pork  and  wheat.  O.  H.  Bristol  &  Co., 
who  bought  wheat  extensively  from  18-12  to 
1815,  built  a  grain  warehouse.  Many  people 
made  sport  of  it  and  said  it  would  hold  more 
wheat  than  the  county  would  raise  in  ten 
years,  but  the  business  done  proved  them 
false  prophets;  Bristol  &  Co.  often  had  it  full 
of  wheat  two  or  three  times  a  year.  They 
had  been  merchants,  but  went  into  the  grain 
business,  which  they  continued  several  years. 
Other  firms  embarked  in  the  grain  and  pork 
business,  but  when  a  railroad  was  built  through 
the  county  it  crippled  Palestine  as  a  grain 
market.  The  building  of  the  narrow-gauge, 
railroad,  however,  has  revived  somewhat  this 
line  of  business.  Morris,  who  has  been  al- 
ready referred  to,  commenced  a  big  distillery 
about  1831.  He  broke  up  at  it,  and  died 
before  completing  it.  Harmon  Alexander 
bought  the  property  and  turned  it  into  an  oil 
factory,  and  for  several    years   manufactured 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


143 


castor  and  linseed  oil  very  extensively.  A 
woolen  mill  was  built  here  some  years  ago, 
but  it  never  proved  a  success,  and  is  now 
standing  idle. 

The  Land  Office. — This  public  institution 
was  established  at  Palestine  May  11,  1S30. 
The  first  land  sale  took  place  several  years 
jiri'viouslv,  we  have  been  told,  to  the  date  of 
opening  the  office  here.  Tlie  following  wore 
the  registers  and  receivers  during  its  contin- 
uance at  Palestine,  as  furnished  by  the  State 
auditor:  Joseph  Kitchell,  from  the  establish- 
ment of  the  office  to  1811 ;  Jesse  K.  Dubois, 
from  ISll  to  1842;  James  McLean,  from  184:i 
to  184.5; '•Harmon  Alexander,  from  1845  to 
1849;  James  McLean,  from  1849  to  1853; 
Vllarnion  Alexander,  from  1853  to  1855.  The 
receivers  were,  Guy  W.  Smith,  from  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  office  to  1839;  Augustus 
C  French  (afterward  governor),  from  1839  to 
KS42;  David  McGahey,  from  184-2  to  1845; 
William  Wilson,  from  1845  to  1849;  Jesse  K. 
Dubois,  from  1849  to  1853;  Robert  C.  Wilson, 
from  1853  to  1855,  when  the  office  was  dis- 
contijiued  and  the  books  and  records  moved 
to  Springfield. 

The  land-office  was  quite  a  feather  in  the 
ca])  of  Palestine  as  it  rendered  it  the  most 
important  town  in  the  State,  perhaps  the  State 
capital  excepted.  It  was  established  in  a 
couple  of  years  after  the  town  was  laid  out, 
and  continued  its  e.xistence  here  for  a  quarter 
of  a  century.  All  who  entered  land  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  State  had  to  come  to 
Palestine  to  do  it,  and  this  brought  trade  and 
importance  to  the  town.  The  office  was  dis- 
continued after  all  the  land  was  taken  up 
south  of  the  Danville  district. 

Mr.  Guy  Wilson  now  owns  the  old  desk 
used  in  the  land-ollice  for  many  years,  which 
lie  values  highly  as  a  relic.  It  is  a  massive 
piece  of  furniture,  and  was  made  in  Philadel- 
phia specially  for  the  office.     It  is  of  walnut 


lumber,  and  is  still  in  an  excellent   state  of 
preservation. 

The  Jlethodist  Episcopal  Church,  is  the  old- 
est religious  orgiinization  in  Palestine.  Most 
of  its  orioinal  members  were  from  Wesley 
Chapel,  and  among  them  were  the  Culloms. 
Revs.  John  Fox  and  old  Father  McCord  were 
the  eany  preachers,  and  the  church  was  or- 
ganized about  1828-29.  The  first  church 
house  was  a  frame  and  was  never  finished. 
The  present  church  was  built  for  a  town  hall, 
and  somewhere  about  187:^-73,  was  bought  by 
the  congregation  and  converted  into  a  church. 
It  is  a  frame  building,  has  been  re-modeled 
and  improved,  and  is  a  very  comfortable  and 
even  elegant  church.  Before  its  purchase, 
the  congregation  worshiped  some  time  in 
the  Presbyterian  church.  Rev.  Thos.  J.  Mas- 
sey  is  the  present  pastor  of  the  church.  A 
Sundaj'-school  is  maintained,  of  which  Arthur 
Vance  is  superintendent. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  of  Palestine  was 
organized  in  1831.*  Rev.  John  Montgomery 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  Rev.  Isaac  Reed  of  New 
York,  held  a  meeting  here  embracing  the 
14th,  15th  and  Kith  of  May,  of  the  above 
year,  and  during  its  progress  organized  the 
church,  with  the  following  members:  John, 
Nancy,  Jane  and  Eliza  Houston,  Mary  Ann 
Logan,  Wilson,  Henry  and  Alfred  Lagow, 
James  and  Margaret  Eagleton,  James  Cald- 
well, Phoebe  Morris,  Anna  Piper,  John  and 
Ann  Malcom  and  Hannah  Wilson.  John 
Houston  and  Wilson  Lagow  were  chosen 
elders.  The  following  have  since  filled  the 
office:  James  Eagleton,  Dr.  E.  L.  Patton, 
Fiidcy  Puull,  Andrew  McCormick,  James  C. 
Allen,  J.  M.  Winsor,  J.  H.  Richey,  Dr.  J.  S. 
Brengle,  J.  C.  Raniey,  and  H.  T.  Beam. 
The  following  preachers  have    ministered   to 

*  From  Dr.  Norton's  History  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  in  Southern  llliii  us. 


144 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


the  congregation:  Revs.  John  Montgomery, 
Reuben  White,  James  Crawford,  Isaac  Ben- 
nett, E.  W.  Thayer,  R.  H.  Lilly,  Joseph  Piatt, 
John  Crosier,  J.  M.  Alexander,  Joseph  Piatt 
(again),  A.  MoFarland,  A.  Thompson,  Thomas 
Spencer,  J.  E.  Carson  and  S.  W.  Lagrange. 
There  is  no  pastor  at  present.  Of  the  original 
members  all  are  dead,  and  of  those  present  at 
its  formation,  but  two  were  present  at  its 
semi-centennial,  May  14th,  15th  and  IGth, 
1881,;  these  two  were  Isaac  N.  Wilson  and 
Abigail  Wilson,  members  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  of  Olney. 

Dr.  Norton,  in  his  work  on  the  Presbyte- 
rian (Church  of  Illinois,  pays  an  eloquent  and 
justly  merited  tribute  to  Mr.  Finley  PauU. 
After  speaking  of  his  long  and  faithful  ser- 
vice, he  closes  as  follows:  "  Elder  Finley 
Paull  has  been  an  elder  nearly  ever  since  his 
union  with  the  church  in  ]83i,  and  in  all  that 
time  has  missed  but  two  meetings  of  the  ses- 
sion, while  but  three  members  have  been  ad- 
mitted when  he  was  not  present."  There  are 
few  instances  of  a  more  faithful  stewardship. 

Of  former  pastors,  there  were  present  at  the 
semi-centennial.  Rev.  E.  W.  Thayer  of  Spring- 
field; Rev.  J.  Crosier  of  Olney,  and  Rev.  A. 
McFarland  of  Flora.  There  had  been  440 
persons  connected  with  the  church  since  its  or- 
ganiza'ion  fifty  years  before,  and  two  churches, 
Robinson  and  Beckwith  Prairie  churches  have 
been  formed  from  its  membership.  The  first 
house  of  worship  was  a  carpenter  shop  they 
bought  and  fitted  up  for  the  purpose.  In 
1840  they  built  a  church  38x50  feet  at  a  cost 
of  §1,300.  Tlie  house  has  been  remodeled 
and  enlarged  and  a  bell  attached.  A  Sunday- 
school  in  connection  with  the  church  is  car- 
ried on,  with  Mrs.  Lottie  Ramey  as  superin- 
tendent. 

The  Christian  church  of  Palestine  is  an  old 
organization,  but  we  were  unable,  through 
the  negligence  or  indifference  of  its  members, 
to  learn  anything  concerning  its  early  history. 


Their  first  church  edifice  was  a  frame  and  was 
burned  some  years  ago.  In  1874  they  erected 
their  elegant  brick  church,  which  in  outward 
appearance  is  the  handsomest  church  in  the 
town.  They  have  no  regular  pastor  at  pres- 
ent. 

Palestine  Lodge  No.  2352,  K.  of  H.,  was 
instituted  January  31,  1881.  The  present 
officers  are  as  follows:  J.  A.  Martin,  Dicta- 
tor; H.  H.  Haskctt,  Vice  Dictator;  Perry 
Brimberry,  Assistant  Dictator;  J.  W.  Laver- 
ton,  Past  Dictator;  A.  C.  Goodwin,  Repor- 
ter; W.  R.  Emmons,  F.  Reporter,  and  J.  A. 
Maxwell,  Treasurer. 

The  site  of  Palestine  is  a  beautiful  one  for 
a  town,  and  its  selection  shows  good  taste  in 
the  commissioners  who  selected  it  for  the 
county  seat.  It  seems  a  pity  that  the  seat  of 
justice  could  not  have  remained  here,  but  the 
center  of  population  demanded  its  removal. 
The  question  of  public  buildings  and  removal 
of  the  county  seat  is  noticed  in  the  chapter 
on  the  organization  of  the  county.  The  little 
town  in  its  palmy  days  produced  some  able 
men,  agovernor  (A.  G.  French);  an  attorney 
general  (Wiokliffe  Kitchell);  and  a  circuit 
judge  and  member  of  Congress,  m  the  person 
of  James  C.  Allen.  With  the  removal  of  the 
county  seat  the  town  lost  much  of  its  former 
prestige,  and  to-day  it  is  a  rather  dilapidated, 
rambling,  tumble-down  old  town,  almost 
wholly  devoid  of  life  and  energy.  Some 
beautiful  residences,  standing  in  spacious  and 
well-kept  grounds  are  an  ornament  to  the 
place,  and  show  a  refinement  of  taste  in  their 
owners. 

The  cemetery  of  Palestine,  like  that  at 
Jack  Oak  Grove,  on  the  prairie,  is  an  old 
burying  ground,  and  is  the  resting  place  of 
many  of  Crawford  County's  early  citizens.  It 
is  a  very  pretty  grave-yard,  with  some  fine 
monuments,  and  elegant  marble  slabs,  silently 
testifying  to  the  affection  of  surviving  friends 
for  their  loved  lost  ones. 


CHAPTEE    XIII.* 


HUTSONVILLE   TOWNSHIP— TOPO",RAPHY— EARLY   SETTLEMENT— HUTSON    FAMILY- THE 

BARLOWS,    NEWLINS    AND    HILLS— OTHER    PIONEERS— EARLY    TRIALS  AND 

TROUBLES— SCHOOLS  AND  CHURCHES— VILLAGE  OP  HUTSONVILLE 

—ITS  SITUATION  AS  A  TRADING  POINT— SOME  OF  THE 

MERCHANTS  AND  BUSINESS    MEN— FIRE, 

WATER,  ETC.,  ETC.  __ 


"  Against  the  cold,  clear  sky  a  smoke 
Curls  like  some  column  to  its  dome, 
An  ax,  with  far,  but  heavy  stroke 
Rings  from  a  new  woodland  home." 

— Joaquin  Miller. 

THERE  is  no  perfect  history.  We  dimly 
outline  from  our  own  stand-point  the  his- 
tory -which  meets  our  eye,  and  steer  our  course 
between  extremes  of  dates  and  happenings, 
while  incompleteness  marks  the  narrative. 
Transcribing  recollections  of  the  aged,  waver- 
ing in  memory,  we  do  not  seek  to  reconcile 
discrepancies,  but  to  embody  in  these  pages 
the  names  and  deeds  of  those  whose  like  can 
never  more  be  seen.  Most  of  the  pioneers  of 
this  division  of  the  county  have  passed  to 
their  reward,  and  the  few  still  left  are  totter- 
ing on  down  toward  the  dark  valley  and  must 
soon  enter  its  gloomy  shadows.  A  few  more 
brief  years  and  the  last  land-mark  will  have 
been  swept  away  as  the  morning  mist  before 
the  rising  sun. 

Hutsonville  Township  is  one  of  the  most 
important  civil  divisions  of  Crawford  County. 
It  is  situated  on  the  eastern  border,  and  is 
bounded  north  by  Clark  County,  east  by  the 
AVabash  river,  south  by  Robinson  and  La- 
motte  townships  and  west  by  Licking  Town- 
ship. The  land  is  drained  by  the  Wabash 
and  the  streams  which  flow    into    it    through 

*Bv  W.  H.  Pernn. 


the  township,  the  principal  ones  of  which  are 
Hutson  and  Raccoon  creeks.  The  surface  is 
rather  low  and  level  along  the  river  back  to 
the  second  terrace,  and  much  of  it  subject  to 
periodical  overflows.  Beyond  the  second 
bottom  it  rises  into  slight  hills,  and  from  their 
summit  stretches  away  in  level  prairie  and 
timbered  flats.  The  original  timber  was 
black  and  white  walnut,  hickory,  pecan,  elm, 
sugar  maple,  oak,  cotton  wood,  sycamore, 
hackberry,  buckeye,  etc.,  etc.  By  the  census 
of  1880,  the  township,  including  the  village, 
had  1,983  inhabitants.  No  better  farmino- 
region  may  be  found  in  Cravpford  County 
than  is  comprised  in  the  greater  portion  of 
Hutsonville  Township.  Aside  from  the  inun- 
dation of  the  low  lands,  the  worst  draw-back  to 
its  agricultural  prosperity  is  the  great  number 
of  large  unwieldy  farms.  Ohio  farmers  have 
grown  wise  in  this  respect,  and  the  large  farm 
in  that  State  is  now  the  exception.  There 
are  plenty  of  farmers  in  the  State  of  Ohio, 
who,  one  year  with  another,  make  more  money 
on  a  hundred  acres  than  any  farmer  makes, 
upon  an  average,  in  Hutsonville  Township,  or 
in  Crawford  County  for  that  matter.  Small 
farms  well  cultivated,  pay  better  than  large 
ones  poorly  worked.  A  little  poem,  going 
the  rounds  of  the  press  some  years  ago,  enti- 
tled the  "  Forty- Acre  Farm,"  is  not  in  appro- 
priate, but  may  be  read  with  profit.  It  is  as 
follows: 


146 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


"  I'm  thinkin',  wife,  of  neigbbor  Jones,  that  man  of  stalwart 

arm,— 
He  lives  in  peace  and  plenty,  on  a  forty-acre  farm; 
While  men  are  all  around  us,  with  hands  and  hearts  asore. 
Who  own  two  hundred  acres  and  still  are  wanting  more. 

•'  His  is  a  pretty  little  farm,  a  pretty  little  house; 

He  has  a  loving  wife  within,  iis  quiet  as  a  uiouse; 

His  children  piny  aniund  the  door,  their  father's  life  to  charm 

Looking  as  neat  and  tidy  as  the  tidy  little  farm. 

"No  weeds  are  in  the  corn  fields ;  no  thistles  in  the  oats ; 
The  horses  show  good    keeping   hy  thAr   fine  and  glossy 

coats; 
The  cows  within  the  meadow,  resting  beneath  the  bcochcn 

shade, 
Learn  all  their  gentle  manners  of  the  gentle  milking  maid. 

"  Within  the  fields,  on  Snturday,  he  leaver  no  cradled  grain 
To  be  gathered  on  the  morrow,  for  fear  of  coming  rain ; 
He  keeps  the  .'^abbaih  holy,  hi-i  ehildieu  learn  his  ways, 
And  plenty  fill  his  barn  and  bin  after  the  harvest  uays. 

"  He  never  has  a  lawsuit  to  take  him  to  the  town, 
For  the  very  simple  r  ason  there  are  no  line  fences  down. 
The  bar-room  in  the  village  does  not  liave  for  him  a  cliarm 
I  can  always  find  my  neighbor  on  his  forty -acre  larm. 

"His  acres  are  so  very  few  he  p'ows  them  very  deep; 

'Tis  his  own  hands  that  turn   the  sod,  'tis  his  own  hands 

that  reap. 
He  has  a  place  tor  everything,  and  things  are  in  their  place ; 
The  sunshine  smiles  up  .n   his  fields,  contentment  tin  hi. 

face. 

"  May  we  not  learn  a  lesson,  wife,  from  prudent    neighbor 

Jones. 
And  not— for  what  we  haven't  got— give  veut  to  sighs  and 

moans  ? 
The  rich  aren't  always  happy,  nor  free  from  life's  alarms ; 
But   blest  are  Ihcy  who  live  content  though  small  may  be 

their  farms." 

Of  all  those  immortals  who  have  helped  to 
make  this  world  wholesomo  with  their  sweat 
and  blood,  the  early  pioneers  were  the  hum- 
blest, but  not  the  meanest  nor  most  insignifi- 
cant. They  laid  the  foundation  on  which 
rests  the  civilizn'-icn  of  the  great  West.  The 
importance  that  attaches  to  their  lives,  char- 
acter and  work  in  the  cause  of  humanity  will 
some  day  be  better  understood  und  appreci- 
ated than  it  is  now.  To  say  that  in  this 
chapter,  it  is  proposed  to  write  the  history  of 
every  familj'  in  the  order  in  which  they  came 
into  the  township  would  be  promising  more 
than  lies  in  the  power  of  any  man  to  accom- 
plish. But  to  give  a  sketch  of  some  of  the 
leading  pioneer  and  representative  men  of 
the  times  is  our  aim,  and  to  gather  such  facts, 


incidents,  statistics  and  circumstances  as  we 
may,  and  transmit  tliam  in  a  durable  form  to 
future  generations  is  the  utmost  limit  of  oui 
desire  and  our  work. 

The'Hutson  family,  there  is  no  doubt,  were 
the  first  white  people  in  what  is  now  Hutson- 
ville  Township.  The  sad  story  of  their  tragic 
death — the  massacre  by  the  Indians,  of  the 
whole  family,  except  the  unhappy  father  and 
husband,  is  told  in  a  preceding  chapter. 
Hutson  was  from  Ohio,  and  settled  due  south 
of  the  village  of  Hutsonville,  where  the  widow 
Albert  McCoy  now  lives,  and  which  is  the  old 
Barlow  homestead.  The  war  of  1S1"2  was  not 
yet  over,  and  the  Indians  were  still  on  the 
war  path  more  or  less,  but  committing  few 
depredations  in  this  part  of  the  country. 
Hutson  believed  there  really  was  no  danger, 
and  so  declined  to  take  refuge  in  the  fort 
where  most  of  the  people  of  the  country  then 
resided  for  safety.  One  day  when  Ilutsnn 
was  absent  from  home,  a  band  of  prowling  sav- 
ao'ps  came  to  his  cabin  and  murdered  the  fam- 
ily— wife  and  four  ciiihlren,  and  a  man  named 
Dixon,  for  what  cause,  except  on  general  prin- 
ciples, was  never  known,  as  no  one  was  left  to 
tell  the  tale.  When  Hutson  returned,  he 
found  his  family  all  dead  and  his  cabin  in 
fl:tmes.  These  are  the  facts  in  brief.  Hutson 
joined  the  arm\'  at  Fort  Harrison  and  was 
soon  after  killed  in  a  skirmish  with  the  sav- 
ages. 

The  Batons,  who  figured  conspicuously  here 
in  early  davs,  settled  in  the  southwest  part  of 
this  township;  or  rather  some  of  them  did. 
"  Uncle  Johnny  "  Eaton,  was  of  those  who 
became  a  settler  in  this  township  after  leav- 
in<r  old  Fort  Lninotte,  where  the  people 
"  hibernated  "  during  the  war  of  ISI'2.  He 
died  but  a  few  years  ago,  and  had  a  mind 
well  stored  with  im/idonts  of  the  early  history 
of  the  county.  All,  however,  that  could  be 
learned  of  the  Eatons,  has  already  been 
aiven. 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


147 


The  Buriows,  next  to  the  Hutson  family 
and  the  Batons,  if  the  latter  settled  here 
immediately  after  leaving  the  fort,  were  the 
first  settlers  in  what  now  forms  Hutsonville 
township.  .lohn  W.  Barlow  came  from  cen- 
tral Kentucky,  and  sprung  from  a  family  of 
Virginia  origin.  lie  was  brought  up  in  a 
region  where  the  first  rudiment  learned  was 
that  of  Indian  warfare — where  the  people 
learned  to  fight  Indians  with  their  mothers 
and  sisters  in  their  cabins,  in  ambuscades  and 
open  fields,  and  before  the  savage  war-cry 
had  died  away  upon  the  frontiers  of  Indiana 
and  Illinois,  he  had  left  the  dark  and  bloody 
ground  as  though  following  the  red  man's 
retreating  footsteps.  Mr.  Barlow  stopped  two 
years  in  Indiana,  near  the  Shaker  village,  and 
in  the  spring  of  181G  came  here.  He  settled 
on  the  place  where  the  Hutson  family  were 
massacred,  and  when  the  land  came 
in  market  lie  purchased  it.  Hutson's  cabin 
had  been  burned  by  the  Indians,  but  there 
was  an  old  stable  standing.  In  this  Mr.  Bar- 
ow  sheltered  his  family,  while  preparing  his 
cabin,  and  while  they  still  occupied  it  a  child 
was  born  to  them.  Literally,  it  was  "  born  in 
a  manger,  "  and  was  doubtless  the  first  birth 
in  the  township.  Mr.  Barlow  lived  upon  this 
place  until  1839,  when  he  removed  to  Mar- 
shall. He  raised  a  large  family,  the  names 
of  which  were  as  follows:  Sarah  .lane;  married 
VVm.  McCo}';  Frances,  an  invalid  daughter; 
Henry  M.  (he  that  was  born  in  the  stable), 
now  a  resident  of  Texas;  Xancy  O.  (Mrs. 
John  R.  Hurst);  Rebecca,  married  Wm.  T. 
Adams,  she  is  dead  and  he  lives  in  Marshall; 
Alfred  died  on  the  farm;  Polyxona,  a  daugh- 
ter who  died  single;  Dr.  James  JI.,  living  in 
Jasper  County;  Dr.  John  W.,  died  in  AVest- 
field.  111.;  Dr.  J.  Milton,  died  two  years  ago 
in  Clark  County;  Joel  died  while  yet  an  inl'ant, 
and  Wm.  Hugh  die  1  before  reaching  matu- 
rity. Mr.  Barlow  died  in  18G3and  his  wife  in 
1879,  and  side  by  side  they  sleep  in  the  cem- 


etery at  Hutsonville.  For  more  than  half  a 
century  they  toiled  together,  and  even  in 
death  they  were  not  long  separated. 

Joel,  Jesse  and  James  were  brothers  of 
Mr.  Barlow.  The  first  two  came  here  with 
him  and  settled,  Joel  south  of  Hutsonville, 
and  Jesse  on  vvhat  is  now  known  as  the  Steel 
farm.  James  came  several  years  later.  They 
are  all  dead;  Joel  died  and  was  buried  in 
Hutsonville  cemetery.  About  the  same  time 
that  the  Barlows  arrived  in  the  township 
John  Neeley  and  Joseph  Bogard  came — 
probably  came  with  them.  Charley  Newlin 
lives  on  the  place  where  Bogard  settled,  while 
Neeley  settled  on  what  is  known  as  the  Cal- 
lahan place.  They  are  all  dead  and  gone. 
When  their  strong  and  busy  hands  fell  nerve- 
less at  their  sides  in  death,  their  life  work 
was  taken  up  by  those  who  came  after  them. 

The  Newlins,  Hills,  and  John  Saekrider 
came  to  the  county  in  181S,  and  settled  in  the 
present  township  of  Hutsonville.  The  New- 
lin family  is  one  of  the  most  extensive  and 
numerous  probably  in  the  whole  county.  It 
used  to  be  a  standing  joke,  that  you  might 
start  out  and  go  west  from  the  village  of  Hut- 
sonville, and  if  you  met  a  stranger,  call  him 
Newlin,  and  you  would  hit  the  nail  on  the  head. 
Another  remark  often  made  of  the  Newlins 
and  Hills,  and  one  to  the  truth  of  which  all 
who  know  them  will  bear  testimony,  is,  that 
the  word  of  a  Newlin  or  a  Hill  is  as  good  as 
his  bond,  and  when  once  pledged  is  never 
broken  but  held  sacred  as  though  bound  by 
the  strongest  oatiis. 

John  Newlin,  the  patriarch  of  the  tribe, 
came  here  with  his  family  in  1818.  He  was 
from  North  Carolina  (tii!s  township  was  set- 
tled almost  entirely  from  the  "Tar-heel"  State), 
and  stopped  for  one  year  in  Indiana,  but  not 
being  favorably  impressed  with  Hoosierdom, 
crossed  the  Wabash,  and  settled  in  this  divis- 
ion of  Crawford  County.  His  sons  were  Na- 
thaniel, Thomas,  James,  "  Caper''  John,  Jon- 


t48 


IIISrORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


athan,  and  William.  The  old  pioneer  and  all 
his  sons,  except  Nathaniel — '■  Uncle  Natty," 
as  the  present  generation  call  him — who  lives 
now  with  his  son-in-law,  George  McDowell, 
on  the  prairie  south  of  Hutsonville,  are  dead. 
For  some  years  before  the  old  man's  death  ho 
made  his  home  with  Thomas,  who  lived  in 
what  is  now  Robinson  Township.  Some  of  liis 
sons  settled  oriijinally  in  that  township,  hut 
most  of  the  family  have  always  livetl  in  this 
township,  and  are  among  its  best  citizens. 
James  Newlin  entered  a  section  of  land  in  a 
half  mile  of  where  Cyrus  Newiin  lives,  upon 
which  he  lived  until  his  death  in  1853.  He 
raised  eight  children,  all  sons,  viz.:  Andrew, 
John,  Hiram,  Alfred,  Abraham,  Oliver,  Na- 
than and  Cyrus.  Nathan  lived  and  died  on 
the  homestead,  and  met  his  death  by  cutting 
down  a  tree  and  being  caught  under  it  as  it 
fell.  The  other  sons,  with  one  or  two  excep- 
tions, are  living  in  this  township.  John  Hill 
also  came  from  North  Carolina,  and  settled 
on  the  place  now  owned  by  "  Bub  "  Newlin, 
and  upon  which  he  died  some  thirty  years 
an^o.  He  had  four  sons:  Charles,  Doctor,  Will- 
iam and  Richard,  all  of  whom  are  dead  ex- 
cept Mr.  Doctor  Hill,  who  lives  in  the  imme- 
diate neighborhood  of  his  father's  settlement. 
John  Hill  01  Robinson  is  a  nephew,  and  one 
of  the  most  respected  busini  ss  men  of  that 
enterprising  young  city.  Sackrider  was  an 
active  and  energetic  man.  He  was  a  captain 
in  the  war  of  1813,  and  was  with  Perry  on 
Lake  Erie.  He  died  thirty-five  or  forty  years 
asco.  Solomon  and  Allen  were  his  sons,  and 
are  both  dead.  Wm.  Boyd  lives  on  a  part  of 
the  old  Sackrider  farm.  Allen  Sackrider  died 
in  Terre  Haute,  and  Solomon  died  in  this 
township. 

Of  such  men  as  we  have  been  writing 
about,  how  true  are  the  words  of  Lord  Bacon: 
".  That  wherounto  man's  nature  doth  more 
aspire,  which  is  immortality  or  continuance: 
for  to  this  tendeth  generation,  and   raising  of 


houses  and  families;  to  this  buildings,  found- 
ations and  monuments;  to  this  tendeth  the 
desire  of  memory,  fame  and  celebration,  and 
in  effect  the  strength  of  all  other  human  de- 
sires. We  see  then  how  far  the  monu- 
ments of  learning  are  more  durable  than  the 
monuments  of  power  or  of  the  hands."  These 
men  have  left  monuments  as  lasting  as  the 
"  monuments  of  power  or  of  the  hands  " — 
monuments  that  will  live  in  the  hearts  of  gen- 
erations yet  to  come. 

From  1818  to  1831,  came  Aaron  Ball, 
Malin  Voorhies,  Eli  Hand,  and  perhaps  others. 
Ball  was  from  New  Jersey,  and  settled  here 
in  the  latter  part  of  1818,  or  in  the  early  part 
of  1819.  Edward,  Montgomery,  John  and 
Aaron  were  his  sons,  and  two  of  them  he  ed- 
ucated for  doctors  and  two  for  fanners.  Ed- 
ward was  a  physician  and  lived  and  died  in 
Terre  Haute;  Aaron  was  also  a  physician  and 
moved  west,  where  he  still  lives  and  is  prac- 
ticing his  profession.  John  is  still  living 
wliere  he  originally  settled,  and  Montgomery 
died  here  some  years  ago.  Mr.  Voorhies  was 
also  from  New  Jersey,  and  was  an  uncle  to 
the  Tall  Sycamore  of  the  Wabash — Senator 
Voorhies.  He  settled  on  the  farm  where  his 
son,  Henry  C.  Voorhies,  now  lives,  and  with 
the  exception  of  a  few  years,  it  has  never 
been  out  of  possession  of  the  family.  It 
is  owned  now  by  Henry,  one  of  the  honorable 
men  of  the  township.  Mr.  Hand  was  a  na- 
tive of  Virginia,  and  came  here  in  1831,  set- 
tlino-  where  his  grandson,  Woodford  D.  Hand 
now  lives.  He  emigrated  to  Ohio,  when  the 
Buckeye  State  was  on  the  very  verge  of  civ- 
ilization, and  afterward  came  to  Illinois  as 
above,  bringing  his  family  and  his  earthly  all 
in  a  three-horse  wagon.  He  died  in  18.57. 
Jas.  F.  Hand  was  his  son,  and  the  father  of 
Woodford.  He  was  an  active  man  in  the 
neighborhood,  and  among  other  positions  he 
held,  was  that  of  associate  judge  of  the 
county,    and  justice  of  the  peace.     He   died 


HISTOUY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


14!) 


in  ISTo,  and  the  mantle  of  the  active  old  man 
has  fallen  upon  the  shoulders  of  his  worthy 
son,  who  is  treading  in  his  footstops. 

Nathan  ilusgrave,  a  good  old  Quaker  from 
Xorth  Carolina,  came  to  the  settlement  in  the 
spring  of  182G.     He  left  his  old  home  in  1823, 
as  the  leader  of  a  large   company    bound   for 
the   great   West.     Tliero    was   Mrs.    Zylpha 
Co.x,   a  widow,    his   mother-in-law;   William 
Co.x,  her  son ;  A.  B.  Raines,  John   R.  Hurst, 
Philip     Musgrave,    James     Boswell,    Joseph 
Green,  A.xum  Morris,  Philip  Corbett  and  fam- 
ily, and   Benj.  Dunn   and   wife.     Dunn   died 
on  the  road,  and  like    Moses,  never  reached 
the   Promised  Land.     They   first  stopped  in 
Minor  County,  where   they  remained  about 
three  years  and  then  came  here — all  of  them, 
except  Morris,  Corbett  and  Philip  Muso-rave. 
Mrs.  Cox's  sons  were   William,   Thomas  and 
Wiley,  and  William  was  the    first    merchant 
in  Hutso:ivilIe.     Nathan  Musgrave,   has  but 
one  son,  William  P.,  and  a  daughter  living — 
Mrs.    Belle    Kennedy.       Williura    Muso-rave, 
who  came  to  the  township  in  1833,  also  mar- 
ried a  daughter  of  Mrs.  Cox.     When  Nathan 
Musgrave  came  here  he  found   two  or   three 
families  living  in  the  neighborhood  where  he 
settled,  among  them  the   Lindleys.     Thomas 
I^indley  was   living   where  his  son    John    H. 
died  some  years  ago.     He  was  from  Virginia, 
it  is  believed,  ai  d  died  upon  the  place  where 
he  settled.     His  sons  were  Abraham,  William, 
John  H.,  and  Morton.     He  had  two  brothers 
Samuel  and  William,  also  early  settlers  in  this 
part  of  the  tciv  ns'i  p.     Young   Sam   Lindlev, 
as  he  is  called,  is   a   son    of  William,  and  a 
daughter  married  Lafayette  Raines.     Samuel 
lives  where  his  father  settled,   and   Lafayette 
and   Simpson    Raines   live   where   the     elder 
Samuel  Lindloy  settled.     The  Lindleys  and 
Musgraves  were  another  honest  set  of  men, 
and  of  the  strictest  integrity.     Nathan  Mus- 
grave lived  to  a  ripe  old   age   and   amassed  a 
fortune.     One  of  the    boys    who    came    here 


with  Old  Nathan  Musgrave,  took  his  first 
lessons  in  honesty,  uprightness  and  square- 
dealing,  which  have  marked  his  course  through 
a  long  life,  from  him.  We  mean  "  Uncle 
Jack  "  Hurst.  He  came  here  but  a  boy,  and 
lived  with  Nathan  Musgrave,  in  fact,  was 
mostly  raised  by  the  good  old  Quaker,  and 
imbibed  many  of  his  sterling  qualities.  The 
lessons  thus  learned  have  been  his  guide 
through  life,  so  that  now,  when  he  stands 
upon  a  spot  from  which  he  can  see  the  even- 
ing twilight  creeping  on,  the  name  of  John  R. 
Hurst  is  without  blot  or  blemish.  And  when 
the  race  is  nearly  run,  to  see  this  venerable, 
white-haired  old  man,  and  his  white-haired 
companion  hand  in  hand  passing  along.  Hear- 
ing the  journey's  end,  receiving  the  love  and 
reverence  of  all,  is  a  picture  that  many  loving 
hearts  would  wish  might  never  fade. 

Chalkley  Draper  came  to  the  county  in  a 
very  early  day,  and  was  a  man  much  above 
the  ordinary.  He  lived  first  in  the  vicinity  of 
Palestine,  the  general  stopping  place  of  all 
the  early  emigrants.  He  finally  settled  on 
the  place  where  Franklin  Draper  now  lives. 
He  was  a  Quaker  and  of  the  strict  honesty 
that  characterized  all  the  old  time  members 
of  that  peculiar  sect.  He  had  several  sons  of 
whom  were  Axum,  Asa,  Jesse  and  Franklin. 
The  latter  is  the  only  one  living,  and  resides  on 
the  old  homestead.  Mr.  Wm.  L.  Draper  of 
Hutsonville  is  a  son  of  Axum  Draper.  Alex- 
ander McCoy  was  also  a  very  early  settler. 
He  had  three  sons,  William,  John  and  Squire. 
William  married  Sarah  Jane  Barlow,  and  a 
daughter-in-law,  Mrs.  Albert  McCoy,  lives  on 
the  old  Hutson  place,  as  previously  stated. 
Squire  McCoy  followed  the  river,  and  never 
lived  in  the  township.  The  old  man  died 
here  many  years  ago. 

The  Lowes  were  early  settlers  in  the  county. 
William  Lowe  was  the  first  of  the  name  to 
come,  and  he  settled  in  the  lower  part  of  the 
county    below    Palestine.     He  was  there  as 


150 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


early  as  1811-18,  but  afterward  came  to  this 
township  anil  located  in  the  Lindley  neia;hbor- 
hood.  1-Ie  finally  died  in  Terre  Haute.  A 
son  of  his,  Isaac  N.  Lowe,  long  a  resident 
of  Hntsoiiville,  was  known  to  nearly  every 
man  in  both  town  and  township,  and  univer- 
sally esteemed  by  all.  Old  "  Jackey  "  Lowe 
came  here  in  1834,  and  Benjamin,  an  old 
bachelor  l.irother,  came  about  the  same  time. 
They  are  both  dead,  and  few  now,  except  the 
oldest  citizens,  remember  them. 

Another  o-ood  old  Quaker  family  from 
North  Carolina  were  the  Gyers.  They  came 
first  to  Indiana,  and  about  the  year  1835-26 
came  here  and  settled  northwest  of  the  pre- 
sent village  of  Hutsonville.  Aaron  Gyer  died 
about  1840;  of  other  branches  of  the  family  we 
have  no  data,  though  there  are  still  a  number  of 
them  living  in  the  township.  Joseph  Green 
"vvas  a  member  of  the  company  that  came  out 
from  North  Carolina  with  Nathan  Musgrave. 
He  died  here  about  1S55.  Another  family  are 
the  Coxes,  thouo-h  they  came  at  a  later  date. 
Bryant  Cox,  still  living,  came  from  North  Caro- 
lina, and  arrived  here  the  first  of  .June,  18ol. 
He  settled  where  his  son,  Sim|)Son  Cox,  now 
lives,  while  he  lives  a  few  hundred  yards  dis- 
tant. His  sons  are  Wm.  R.,  Andrew  J.,  John 
T.,  the  good-natured  circuit  clerk  of  the 
county,  and  Simpson,  one  of  the  most  whole- 
souled  men  in  Hutsonville  Township.  Mat- 
thew Cox  was  of  a  different  family.  He  came 
from  Tennessee  in  1830,  and  settled  in  the 
northwest  corner  of  the  township,  where  he 
died  several  years  ago,  but  has  several  sons 
still  living. 

This  is  but  a  brief  and  meager  sketch  of 
some  of  the  pioneer  families  who  settled  this 
division  of  the  county.  The  list  no  doubt  is 
very  incomplete,  as  the  means  of  obtaining 
information  of  this  "long  ago  period"  are 
few,  and  year  by  year  are  becoming  lessened. 
With  all  the  disadvantages  under  which  thi 
historian    must    necessarily  labor,   it   is   not 


strange  if  many  names,  together  with  impor- 
tant facts  and  incidents  are  overlooked  or 
omitted  altogether. 

The  hard  life  of  the  early  settlers  is  a  theme 
often  discussed.  There  is  no  question  but 
they  did  live  a  hard  life.  But  there  were  ex- 
ceptions just  as  there  are  now.  There  was 
then,  as  now,  great  ditTerence  in  the  forethought 
and  thrift  of  the  people.  Many,  even  in  tlie 
earliest  years  of  the  county's  existence  lived 
in  generous  plenty  of  such  as  the  land  af- 
forded. True,  the  pioneers  had  to  have  pow- 
der, tobacco  and  whisky,  but  for  everything 
else  they  could  kill  game.  Meat  of  a  supe- 
rior quality  and  in  varieties  that  we  now  can 
not  get  were  within  the  easy  reach  of  all,  but 
for  meal  they  at  first  had  to  go  to  the  Shaker 
mills  in  Indiana  until  mills  were  built  here. 
Game  of  all  kinds  was  plenty,  as  well  as  wild 
beasts,  which  a  man  would  not  care  to  "  meet 
by  moonlight  alone,"  such  as  bears,  panthers 
and  wolves.  Mr.  Hiram  Newlin  tells  the  fol- 
lowing panther  story:  He,  with  his  father 
and  brother  were  out  one  day  hunting  wild 
hogs,  when  the  dogs  "  treed  "  some  kind  of  a 
"varmint."  The  boys  threw  rocks  at  it  until 
tired,  when  Hiram,  the  most  venturesome  of 
the  lot,  climbed  the  tree.  The  varmint 
jumped  out,  and  the  dogs  chased  it  to  another 
tree.  The  great  fuss  the  dogs  and  the  boys 
made,  brought  some  other  men  upon  the 
scene,  who  like  themselves,  had  been  hunting 
hogs,  and  who  happened  to  have  a  gun  with 
them.  They  shot  the  animal,  when  lo,  and 
behold!  it  was  a  full  grown  panther  of  a  large 
size. 

There  is  but  little  of  interest  in  Hutsonville 
township  to  write  about,  aside  from  the  mere 
facts  of  its  settlement,  as  the  |irincipal  history 
of  the  township  is  connected  with  the  village. 
There  is  a  group  of  mounds  near  Hutsonville, 
but  they  are  fully  described  in  a  preceding 
chapter,  and  nothing  can  be  said  of  them  here 
without  repetition.     Of  the  early  schools  their 


histoi:y  of  crawford  corxrv. 


mi 


history  in  this  township  is  but  a  repetition  of 
the  same  in  other  parts  of  the  county,  viz.: 
the  log  cabin-school  house,  the  illiterate 
pedagogue  and  the  dirty  faced  urchins.  The 
township  is  well  supplied  at  this  day  .with 
good  scliool-houses,  and  its  educational  facil- 
ities are  ecpial  to  its  requirements  in  that 
line. 

Churches. — The  Quaker  church  is  one  of 
the  oldest  church  organizations  in  the  town- 
ship— so  old  that  we  could  not  learn  the  time 
of  its  formation  as  a  church.  They  first  held 
their  meetings  in  a  double  log-house  which 
stood  near  the  grave-yard  on  the  John  H.  Lind- 
ley  place.  A  few  years  later  a  log  churcli 
was  built  on  the  road  leading  to  York  and  a 
short  distance  from  the  old  place.  The  next 
was  a  frame  church  at  the  Cross  Roads  near 
Ezekiel  Bishop's  place.  When  that  o-ave 
out,  the  present  frame  church  building  on  the 
"Quaker  lane,"  as  it  is  called,  was  built,  and 
a  strong  congregation  occupy  it.  It  has 
been  a  church  organization  for  sixty  years. 

Hutsotiville  Baptist  Church  was  organized 
February  21,  1856.  The  facts  which  led  to 
its  formations  were  these:  A  few  Baptists  liv- 
ing at  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Hutsonville,  in 
the  summer  of  1855,  requested  the  missionary 
board  of  Palestine  association  to  send  some 
one  to  Hutsonville,  and  in  compliance  the 
board  sent  Elder  .1.  W,  Riley.  In  company 
with  Elder  E.  Frey,  he  commenced  a  meet- 
ing at  Hutsonville  on  the  lOtii  of  February, 
1856,  and  at  its  close  organized  a  church  con- 
sisting of  the  following  members:  .Jane  Bar- 
low, Daniel  S.  Downey,  Joseph  Medley,  Mary 
Medley,  Hezokiah  Winters,  Maria  Vance, 
Phoebe  Downey  and  Anna  Paine.  Elder  E. 
Frey  was  the  first  pastor,  and  Elder  Asa 
Frakes  the  next,  followed  by  Elder  A.  .J. 
Fuson,  and  he  by  Elder  J.  L.  Cox,  the  pres- 
ent pastor.  Although  the  church  was  organ- 
ized in  Hutsonville,  yet  when  a  church  edifice 
was  built,  it  was  located  about  three  and  a  half 


miles  northwest  of  the  village.  It  was  built 
in  1865 — is  a  frame  building  21:X.36  feet,  and 
cost-Sl,{iOO,  with  140  members  at  present. 

Elder  Frakes,  the  second  pastor,  was  a 
Kentuckian  by  birth,  and  spent  the  lastyears 
of  his  life  in  Vigo  County,  Ind.  He  wielded 
a  great  influence  for  good  throughout  his  lono- 
life.  When  he  came  to  Hutsonville  he  found 
the  church  at  a  very  low  ebb.  Under  his 
labors  it  thrived  and  grew  constantly  during 
his  administration.  He  was  a  man  of  great 
firmness,  full  of  life  and  perseverance.  When 
he  first  commenced  in  the  ministry,  he  could 
not  read;  he  studied  night  and  day  and  would 
go  to  the  woods  and  procure  bark  to  make  a 
light  to  read  by,  sitting  up  late  at  night,  pre- 
paring himself  for  his  ministerial  labors.  He 
was  afflicted  with  dropsy,  and  near  the  close 
of  his  life,  had  to  sit  while  speaking. 

Elder  Fuson  was  born  in  Ohio  and  came  to 
this  country  in  early  life,  settling  in  Clark 
County,  between  Marshall  and  Terre  Haute. 
He  lived  there  several  years,  extending  his 
labors  up  and  down  the  Wabash  River,  and 
then  moved  to  the  southern  part  of  Crawford 
County,  where  he  remained  until  the  fall  of 
1S72  and  then  moved  west.  He  was  of  a  deli- 
cate constitution,  but  of  great  perseverance. 
_Jhe  country  was  new;  without  railroads,  and 
his  mode  of  traveling  was  on  horseback, 
facing  wind  and  storm.  He  traveled  several 
years  for  the  home  missionary  board  of  New 
York.  His  education  was  fair  for  that  dav. 
The  Hutsonville  church  greatly  increased 
during  his  pastorate. 

The  Universalist  Church  was  organized  in 
the  Methodist  church  at  Hutsonville,  April  .5, 
1870,  by  Rev.  Robert  G.  Harris.  Most  of  the' 
members  lived  in  the  country,  and  when  a 
church-house  was  built,  it,  like  the  Baptist 
chui-eh,  was  built  some  two  miles  from  town. 
It  was  built  some  ten  years  ago,  at  a  cost  of 
about  S-IOO,  and  is  a  neat  little  frame  build- 
ing.    The    last    minister    was   the    Rev.  Mr. 


152 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


Gibb,  Ijut  h(>  closed  his  pastorate  in  1882,  and 
the   flock   is  at  present  witiiout  a  shepherd. 

The  Village. — Hutsonville  was  laid  out  as 
a  village  in  April,  1833.  A  body  of  land  in- 
cluding that  upon  wiiich  the  town  stands,  was 
entered  by  Andrew  Harris,  who  sold  a  por- 
tion of  it  to  his  father,  Israel  Harris.  The 
latter  built  a  tavern  on  the  river  bank,  near 
where  the  calaboose  stands,  and  the  site  of 
which  is  marked  by  a  sink  in  the  ground  (the 
old  tavern  cellar)  and  a  few  bushes  growing 
out  of  it.  This  was  on  the  old  State  road 
from  Vincennes  to  Chicago,  and  which  passed 
through  Palestine,  York,  Darwin,  Paris,  Dan- 
ville, and  on  to  Chicago.  Harris  lost  money 
in  tavern  keeping,  and  finally  traded  the 
property,  together  with  the  land  around  it,  to 
Robert  Harrison,  for  property  in  Terre  Haute, 
and  moved  to  that  place. 

Robert  H.irrison  laid  out  the  town  in  1833, 
as  above  stated,  and  the  original  plat  em- 
braced 48  lots,  most  of  which  were  sold  at  the 
first  sale.  Harrison  afterward  surveyed  and 
laid  off  80  lots  rttore  which  was  known  as 
"Harrison's  addition  to  the  town  of  Hutson- 
ville." There  have  been  other  additions 
made  of  a  later  date,  but  to  go  into  the 
details  of  each,  is  not  pertinent  to  the  subject, 
nor  of  special  importance.  The  town  was 
called  Hutsonville,  in  memory  of  Isaac  Hut- 
son,  whose  family  was  murdered  by  the 
Indians. 

The  first  residence  built  in  Hutsonville  after 
the  town  was  laid  out  was  erected  by  Wm. 
Cox,  in  the  fall  of  1833.  The  house  was  built 
on  lot  33,  fronting  the  river,  and  was  of 
hewed  logs,  and  was  afterward  "  weather- 
boarded."  By  a  strange  coincidence  it  has 
fallen  down  from  age,  since  we  commenced 
writing  this  chapter.  Wm.  M.  Hurst,  a 
brother  of  "Uncle"  Jack's;  put  up  the  next 
residence.  He  built  a  kitchen  in  the  fall  of 
1833,  and  occupied  it  and  the  counting  room 
of   his    store,    until    he    could    complete    the 


remainder  of  his  residence,  which  was  the  fol- 
lowing spring.  His  was  a  small  one-story 
building,  also  on  the  river  bank,  and  is  stdl 
standing  and  known  as  the  "  Gascon  Adams 
House."  Residences  now  went  up  rapidly'; 
so  rapidly  we  are  unable  to  keep  trace  of 
them. 

The  mercantile  business  took  an  early  start 
in  Hutsonville.  William  Cox  and  William 
M.  Hurst,  above  mentioned  were  the  pioneer 
merchants.  Under  the  firm  name  of  Cox  & 
Hurst,  they  opened  a  store  in  August,  1833,  a 
few  months  after  the  town  was  laid  out. 
They  continued  business  until  1837-38,  when 
they  closed  out  for  the  purpose  of  collecting 
up  the  debts  they  had  made.  Everybody 
there  who  sold  goods  at  all,  sold  on  a  credit — 
"  the  cheap  cash  store "  had  not  yet  been 
invented — and  hence,  every  few  years,  the 
merchant  had  to  close  out  his  business,  and 
collect  his  outstanding  accounts  in  order  to 
raise  money  to  buy  another  stock  of  goods. 
Thus  Cox  &  Hurst,  after  running  a  store  some 
five  or  six  years,  were  forced  to  pursue  this 
method  to  replenish  their  stock,  and  the  mer- 
cantile field  was  left  to  others.  After  clos- 
ing out  their  business,  they  rented  their  store- 
house to  C.  C.  McDonald,  who  opened  a  large 
store,  but  he  soon  run  his  course  and  dropped 
out  of  the  race.  But  in  the  meantime,  the 
second  store  had  been  started  in  1835,  by 
Scott  &  Ross,  who  came  here  from  Terre 
Haute,  for  the  purpose  of  making  their  for- 
tunes. Scott  soon  sold  out  to  Ross,  and  after- 
ward Ross  sold  to  Royal  A.  Knott,  who  took 
William  McCoy  in  as  a  partner.  In  two  or 
three  years  they  were  forced  to  close  out  and 
gather  up  their  scattered  capital. 

About  the  year  1840,  William  Cox,  the 
pioneer  merchant,  together  with  Hurst  and 
others,  under  the  firm  of  Wm.  Cox  & 
Co.,  again  embarked  in  the  mercantile  busi- 
ness, but  in  three  or  four  years,  and  for  the 
same    reason    as    heretofore,  again    retired. 


-'\\ 


i^^^/^74W^A 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


155 


Caswell  Jones  opened  a  store  oa  a  small  scale 
about  1839-4:0,  and  continued  in  business  for 
some  ten  years.     Henry  A.  Steele  also  opened 
a  store  about  the  same   tmie    as   Jones.       He 
built   a   store-house    where   the    large    brick 
block  now  stands,  but  retired  from  business 
in    a  year  or   two.     (Ai^ain    about    lSo4,   in 
company   with   A.    P.  Harness,  he  opened    a 
large    store,  which    was    continued   until    his 
death  in  ISGO.)     Harness  then  wound  up   the 
business    and     afterward   he   and    .McDowell 
commejiced  a  store  which  they  operated  for  a 
few  years.      In  1843—14  the  mercantile  busi- 
ness  had   subsided   into  almost  nothing,  and 
the  people  had  to  go  to  York  to  supply  them- 
selves   with  "  store  goods,"  or  in   a  measure 
do  without  them.      Early  in  the  year  1845, 
Dr.  Lucius  McAllister  rented  the  Steele  store- 
house and    opened  out    a   good    stock.      He 
flourished  but  a  year  or  two  when  he  signally 
failed,  and  left  town.     He  located  somewhere 
about  Tuscola,  wliere  he  recuperated  and  made 
money.      In    184^-48    the    Preston    Brothers 
started   a    store    in    the   Steele  house,    which 
they  operated   several   years.      But   while  in 
full   blast   .John  Sweeny  bought  the    Steele 
store-house  and   compelled  them  to  vacate  it. 
Prestons  then    built    a   store    on    the    corner 
opposite  the  present  post-office,  and  after  a  few 
years    more,    closed    out,    and   devoted    their 
attention  mostly  to   pork   packing.      A  man 
from  York  named  Coleman  rented   the   Pres- 
ton store-house  and  opened  a  stock  of  goods, 
but   did   not  remain    but  a  year  or  two,  when 
he  closed  out  and  returned  whence  he  came. 
February,  1804,  the  Prestons  ag&in  opened 
a  store,  and  on  a  much  larger  scale  than    be- 
fore.    Under  the  firm  of  Preston,  Lake  &  Co. 
they  continued    business    until    a    few    years 
ago,  and  made  a  great  deal    of   money — just 
how  much  none  but  themselves  perhaps  know. 
But   in  pork-packing,   merchandizing,  and  in 
grain  thej'  did  the    most  extensive    business 
ever  done  in  the  town.     This  was  the  general 


headquarters  of  nine  stores  which  they  had  in 
successful  operation.  They  let  the  stock  run 
down,  and  a  few  years  ago,  sold  it  to  George 
McDowell,  who  continued  business,  until  one 
of  the  fires,  -which  Hutsonville  is  subject  to, 
swept  away  the  entire  block,  and  the  Preston, 
Lake  &  Co.'s  building,  where  money  had  been 
accumulated  for  years,  was  but  a  "  heap  of 
smouldering  ruins." 

We  will  go  back  now  and  gather  up  anoth- 
er thread  of  the    mercantile   history   of   Hut- 
sonville.    John  A.   Merrick  opened   a   large 
store  about  18-53-53.    He  built  the  brick  store- 
house occupied  by  Hurst  &01win,  when   they 
were  burned  out  in  1873.     He  commenced  in 
the  old  Steele  house,  several  times  referred  to, 
where  he  remained  until  his  new  brick  store 
was  finisheil.     Mr.  Merrick  carried  on  an  ex- 
tensive business  for  ten  or  twelve  years,  when 
he  sold  to  Gen.  Pearce  &  Sons.     They  closed 
out  in  a  short  time,  and  rented  the  store-house 
to  Musgrave  &   Coffin.     After  a  few    months 
Musgrave  bought  out  Coffin,  and  continuing 
business  a  short  time  longer,  he  (Nathan  Mus- 
grave) died,  when  Wm.   P.   Musgrave,  closed 
out  the  store.     About  the  year  1854,  Luther 
A.  Stone  opened  a  store  as  successor  of  Wm. 
Cox  &  Co.     He  took  in  Levi  Moore  as  a  part- 
ner, and  Wm.  L.  Draper,  then  a  young    man. 
was  employed  as  a  clerk.    Stone,  Moore  &  Co 
continued  a  few  years,  when  Stone  died,  and 
Moore  closed  out.     A  man  from  Terre  Haute 
opened  a  store  in  the  house    lately    occupied 
by  Stone,  Moore  &  Co.,  and  in  a    short    time 
sold  out  to  Draper  &  Wood.     A    man    named 
Mclntire  succeeded  Wood,  and  the    firm   be- 
came Draper  &  Mclntire.      Moore   again  be- 
came   a  partner,  and   so  continued    until    ha 
died.     Draper,  after  Moore's  death,  closed  up 
the    business,   and  about   18G3   sold    out   to 
John  T.  Cox,  a  son  of  the    pioneer    merchant 
of  Hutsonville.     A.  J.  Cox  became  a  partner, 
and  the  business  continued  thus  several  years. 
Wm.  P.  Musgrave  &  Co.    (John   R.  Hurst 


1ii6 


IirSTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


the  Co.)  opened  a  store  March  17,  ISiU ;  the 
Pi-estons  had  re-opened  business  here  in  Febru- 
ary preceding.  Wni.  P.  Musgrave  &  Co.  con- 
tinued about  eighteen  months  when  Musiirave 
sold  out  to  I.  N.  Lowe,  and  the  fn-m  became 
J.  R.  Hurst  &  Co.  In  Novemlier,  1867,  .John 
Olwin  was  admitted  into  the  firm,  and  shortly- 
after  Hurst  bought  out  Lowe,  and  changed 
the  firm  name  to  Hurst  &  Olwin,  which  still 
continues  in  liusiness.  W.  B.  Hurst  became 
a.  partner  in  1S71.  "Uncle  Jack,"  as  every- 
body calls  Mr.  Hurst,  has  retired  from  active 
business  but  the  old  sign,  like  that  of  Doni- 
bey  &  Son,  still  swings  in  the  breeze. 

W.  L.  Draper,  who  sold  out  in  1863,  and 
went  to  Terre  Haute,  afterward  returned  to 
Hutsonville  and  went  into  business  again. 
In  1875,  S.  L.  Bennett  was  admitted  a  part- 
ner, and  the  firm  of  Draper  &  Bennett  con- 
tinued until  about  the  close  of  the  year  1883, 
when  thev  sold  out  to  Golden  &  Canaday, 
now  in  business. 

This  comprises  a  brief  sketch  of  the  early 
mercantile  business  of  Hutsonville,  together 
with  some  of  the  old  firms,  so  well  known  to 
the  people  of  this  section  of  the  county.  We 
leave  the  records  of  more  modern  firms  and 
business  men  to  some  future  historian.  Many 
men  have  embarked  in  business  in  Hutson- 
ville, and  some  have  enjoyed  prosperity  and 
success,  while  others  failed;  some  of  them 
swept  over  the  scene  like  untamed  meteors, 
flashed,  darted  and  fizzled,  and  then  went  out. 
Qnorum  pars  maf/naj'ui.  Yes,  the  writer 
invested  his  surplus  capital  in  Hutsonville, 
but  it  was  swept  away  in  the  great  overflow 
of  "  '75  " — otherwise  in  the  '•  August  freshet," 
and  in  overflows  of  a  different  character,  but 
nevertheless  it  went.  There  have  been  others 
who  met  with  like  misfortvines  here.  But 
there  is  consolation  in  the  fact  that  what  is 
the  loss  of  one  is  the  gain  of  others.  But 
Hutsonville  has  proven  an  Eldorado  to  many. 
INIore  than  one  snug  little   fortune    has   been 


carved  out  here  and  carried  away  to  enrich 
other  sections  of  the  country. 

Taverns.  —  Israel  Harris,  as  stated,  was 
keeping  a  hotel,  or  tavern,  as  they  were  then 
called,  when  Hutsonville  was  laid  out,  and 
sold  it  to  Robert  Harrison.  He  kept  the  tav- 
ern for  years,  and  finally  killed  himself  by 
excessive  drinking.  Some  time  before  he 
died  he  sol  i  the  tavern  and  ail  the  land  he 
owned  (outside  of  the  town  lots)  to  John  El- 
liott, who,  alter  running  the  tavern  for  a 
while,  sold  it  to  Enoch  Wilhite,  the  father  of 
Squire  James  Wilhite,  whom  many  of  our 
readers  still  remember.  Mr.  Wilhite  kept 
the  tavern  as  long  as  he  lived.  It  was  once 
a  very  important  place;  it  was  the  stage- 
stand,  when  a  four-horse  stage  ran  daily 
between  Vincennes  and  Danville.  The 
next  tavern  was  opened  by  Levi  Moore. 
During  the  mercantile  career  of  Stone, 
Moore  &  Co.  they  built  the  brick  resi- 
dence now  owned  and  occupied  by  Mr.  W. 
L.  Draper,  and  in  this,  after  the  death 
of  Stone,  Moore  kept  tavern.  Moore  sold  it 
to  Simons,  who  also  kept  it  as  a  tavern  for 
a  while,  and  then  rented  it  to  William  Boat- 
right,  who  used  it  for  the  same  purpose.  The 
next  tavern  was  kept  by  Joel  Barlow,  on  the 
corner  where  Newton  &  Rackerby's  drug  store 
stands.  Then  a  tavern  was  opened  on  the 
site  of  the  present  Adams  House.  The  house 
was  put  up  as  a  private  residence  by  John 
Musgrave,  but  was  rented  to  C.  C.  McDonald, 
who  kept  it  as  a  tavern.  It  has  charged 
hands  and  landlords  often  since  then;  altera- 
tions have  taken  place,  additions  been  built  ' 
to  it,  old  portions  torn  down  and  repairs  made, 
until  to-day  there  is,  perhajis,  not  a  single 
square  inch  of  the  original  building  left  in  the 
present  house.  For  thirty  years  or  more  it 
has  been  a  tavern-stand,  and  twice  during  that 
period  it  has  been  the  "  Adams  House."  Who 
does  not  remember  "Uncle  Joe"  Adams,  and 
"Aunt  Jane,"    and    their    home-like    tavern? 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


157 


The  present  proprietor,  Mr.  Lewis  Adams,  is 
a  t^euial  host,  judging  from  his  evening  com- 
p;iny,  and  an  accommodating  landlord. 

A  post-office  was  established  liere  in  1832, 
and  Wdliain  Cox  was  the  postmaster.  It 
was  small  and  insignificant  compared  to 
wiiat  it  is  now.  The  mail  was  rocoivt'd  over 
the  old  Slate  road  then,  and  wlien  Murpliy  & 
Goodrich  started  their  big  four-horse  mail 
coaches,  their  arrival  created  a  greater  sensa- 
tion than  Charley  Willard  does  now  when  he 
conies  in  from  the  depot  with  the  mail-bag  on 
his  shoulder.  Murphy  &  Goodrich  started 
tiieir  coaches  about  the  year  183S,  but  broke 
up  in  a  few  months,  and  again  the  mail 
dropped  back  to  first  princi])les — the  hack,  or 
trie  "post-rider" — until  the  iron  horse  dashed 
in  with  it  at  lightning  speed. 

Pork-packing  has  been  an  extensive  and 
profitable  business  in  Hutsonville.  Cox  and 
Hurst  commenced  the  business  in  1835  on  a 
small  scale,  but  followed  it  only  two  or  three 
years.  About  18-i8-9  Carson,  Hurst  &  Mus- 
grave,  as  Carson  &  Co.,  did  a  large  business 
in  pork-packing.  H.  A.  Steele  followed  the 
l)usiness  for  a  few  years,  and  so  also  did  John 
A.  Merrick.  He  built  a  pork  house  and 
packed  extensively  for  two  or  three  years. 

But  the  Prestons  did  the  largest  business 
in  packing  pork.  They  commenced  about 
the  time  they  first  opened  their  store,  having 
rented  Cox  &  Co.'s  pork  house.  In  a  few 
years  they  bought  land  near  the  ferry  and 
built  a  pork  house  of  their  own.  To  this  they 
made  additions  as  their  business  incneased, 
until  it  became  an  extens.ve  establishment. 
They  did  a  large  business  in  pork,  as  well  as 
in  merchandise,  and  grew  immensely  rich. 
To  the  large  fortune  they  are  supposed  to 
liave  accumulated,  Hutsonville  and  Crawford 
County  contributed  far  the  larger  portion. 
In  the  beginning  of  the  pork  business  here  it 
was  shipped  almost  entirely  to  New  Orleans 
by  llat-boats.     ^Vhen  the  Prestons  got  under 


way  they  sh.ipped  bj' steamboats,  and  shipped 
east  mostly  instead  of  south. 

John  A.  Merrick  was  one  of  the  finest  and 
most  accomplished  business  men  ever  in 
Hutsonville.  He  made  money  rapidlv,  accu- 
mulating a  handsome  little  fortune.  But  in  an 
evil  hour  he  invested  his  capital  in  the  old 
distillery  below  town,  which  proved  the  rock 
upon  which  his  ship  went  down,  and  has  been 
equally  disastrous  to  many  since  his  time. 
Indeed,  nearly  every  one  who  invested  in  it 
failed  tttterly.  Merrick  and  Joseph  Volke  of 
Palestine  built  this  distillery,  and  broke  up 
at  it.  After  breaking  everybody  that  took 
hold  of  it,  the  distillery  itself  broke  up — the 
best  break  of  all. 

jnils. — Solomon  Sackrider  built  a  steam 
grist-mill  on  Hutson  Creek  about  three  hun- 
dred yards  from  the  mouth  of  the  creek,  the 
first  mill  in  the  town.  It  was  quite  an  exten- 
sive establishment  and  did  a  profitable  busi- 
ness. The  Prestons  traded  for  it,  and  it 
finally  blew  up  from  some  cause,  and  in  the 
explosion  one  man  was  killed.  The  mill  was 
never  rebuilt. 

The  Hutson  mills  were  built  by  the  Mark- 
leys,  and  was  the  next  enterprise  in  the  town, 
in  the  way  of  a  steam  grist-mill.  They  com- 
prise a  large  three-story,  frame  building,  with 
five  run  of  buhrs,  and  a  capacity  of  one  hun- 
dred barrels  of  flour  per  day,  most  of  which, 
aside  from  home  consumption,  is  shi])ped 
south.  The  mills  have  all  the  latest  improved 
machinery,  and  use  the  patent  process  in  the 
ma  ving  of  flour.  They  have  changed  hands 
many  times  since  they  were  originally  built, 
and  are  now  owned  by  Harness,  Newton  and 
Rackerby.  These  mills,  already  mentioned, 
together  with  the  mill  at  the  old  distillery, 
and  a  number  of  saw-mills  built  about  town 
at  different  times,  embrace  the  manufacturing 
interests  of  Hutsonville  in  the  way    of   mills. 

The  stave-factory,  saw  and  planing-mills, 
on  the  river  above   town    is  an    enterprise  of 


158 


IIISTOUY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


considerable  magnitude.  It  was  built  by 
Hussong  &  Co.  in  1881-83.  It  works  a  num- 
ber of  hands,  and  does  quite  an  extensive 
business. 

The  first  school  in  Hutsonville  was  taught 
b}'  a  man  named  Broom,  in  a  little  house  built 
for  school  purposes,  and  now  occupied  as  a 
residence  by  Jack  Woolverton.  The  next 
school-house  built,  was  the  present  one. 
The  present  attendance  at  school  is  about  100 
pupils — a  little  more  than  half  of  tlie  enroll- 
ment. Another  short-sightedness  in  the  peo- 
ple, is  not  compelling  their  children  to  go  to 
hchool.  When  parents  allow  their  children 
to  run  wild  in  the  streets,  instead  of  sending 
them  to  school,  tliey  can  blame  no  one  but 
themselves  if  they  bring  up  in  the  peniten- 
tiary. Such  things  are  by  no  means  uncom- 
mon. The  ])resent  teachers  of  the  Hutson- 
ville schools,  are  Mr.  Arthur  Horning,  and 
Miss  Dora  Braden. 

Rev.  .lames  McCord,  a  local  Methodist 
preacher,  delivered  the  first  sermon  in  Hut- 
sonville, on  Sunday  before  Christmas,  1833. 
He  then  lived  near  the  town,  and  often 
preached  for  the  people  at  their  residences. 
He  preached  the  sermon  above  referred  to  in  a 
little  unfinished  house  built  by  T.  G.  Moore  on 
Water  street.  About  the  year  1840  a  Meth- 
odist church  was  organized;  a  class,  however, 
had  been  organized  sometime  previously.  In 
February  of  the  year  noted,  a  quarterly  meet- 
ing was  held  in  the  village  by  Rev.  Beadle, 
the  circuit  rider,  and  Rev.  William  Crews, 
presiding  Elder,  and  a  church  organized. 
Harvey  Wilhite  had  been  killed  by  the  kick 
of  a  horse,  and  his  funeral  sermon  was 
preached  at  this  quarterly  meeting  by  Rev. 
Crews.  A  great  revival  of  religion  followed 
the  organization  of  the  church,  and  Christian- 
ity prospered  accordingly.  The  church  has 
existed  ever  since  its  original  organization, 
though  it  has  dwindled  down  at  times,  and 
become  lukewarm.     The  present  lirick  church 


was  built,  between  1850  and  1854,  by  contri- 
butions from  all  denominations,  but  some 
years  ago  it  was  regularly  dedicated  as  a 
Methodist  church.  Rev.  Mr.  Massey  is  the 
present  pastor,  and  Mr.  C.  V.  Newton,  super- 
intendent of  the  Sunday  school,  which  is  car- 
ried on  during  the  entire  year. 

The  Christian  Church  was  organized  soon 
after  the  Methodist  church,  but  a  church  edi- 
fice was  not  built  until  in  1800,  when  the 
present  frame  church  was  erected.  Elder 
Alfred  P.  Law  organized  the  society  in  a 
little  log-house  which  stood  on  lot- 18,  and  is 
now  used  as  a  stable.  The  next  preacher 
after  Law  was  Elder  William  Tichnor. 
There  is  no  regular  pastor  at  present.  The 
church  is  numerically  strong,  and  has  had 
some  able  ministers,  the  ablest  of  whom  per- 
haps were  James  Morgan  and  Elder  Black. 
A  flourishing  Sunday  school  is  maintained 
under  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  A.  J.  Cox. 
There  are  no  other  church  organizations  in 
the  village  than  those  mentioned. 

Hutsonville  Lodge  No.  136  A.  F.  and  A. 
M.,  was  organized  October  5,  1853,  under  E. 
B.  Ames,  Grand  Master,  and  H.  G.  Reynolds, 
Grand  Seoretarj'.  The  first  officers  were  B. 
F.  Robinson,  Master;  Joshua  Davis,  Senior 
Warden,  and  J.  J.  Petri,  Junior  Warden. 
The  present  officers  are  John  M.  McNutt, 
Master;  John  01  win.  Senior  Warden;  L.  W. 
Smith,  Junior  Warden;  R.  W.  Canaday,  Treas- 
urer; G.  V.  Newton,  Secretary,  and  C.  Rogers, 
Tiler. 

Hutsonville  Lodge  No.  106  I.  O.  O.  F.,  was 
instituted  October  15,  1853,  by  W.  L.  Rueker, 
Grand  Master,  and  S.  A.  Goneau,  Grand  Sec- 
retary. The  charter  members  were  Win.  T. 
B.  ilclntire,  J.  N.  Cox,  Liberty  Murphy,  J. 
M.  Wilhite,  and  Andrew  P.  Harness.  The 
present  officers  of  the  lodcre  are  Price  John- 
son, N.  G.;  John  Carpenter,  V.  G.;  E.  Kinnej', 
Treasurer,  and  H.  H.  Flesher,  Secretary. 

Osmer  Lodge  No.  3330  Knights  of  Honor, 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


159 


was  organized  and  a  charter  issued  under  date 
ol'  June  9,  1881,  to  Jolm  O  win,  Win.  E.iton, 
Danl.  Iloldennan,  J.  L.  Musj^rave,  M.  P. 
Rackerby,  C.  W.  Keys,  C.  V.  Newton,  C. 
Rodgers  and  others,  as  charter  members. 
The  present  ofEcers  are  Wm.  Eaton,  P.  D.; 
James  Handy,  D.;  Lucius  Hurst,  A.  D.;  Jesse 
C.  Musgrave,  V.  D.;  John  Oiwin,  Treasurc^r; 
C.  V.  Newton,  Reporter,  and  M.  P.  Rackerby, 
Financial  Reporter,  and  several  others  too  te- 
dious to  mention. 

Hutsonville  has  been  incorporated  time 
after  time.  Its  first  experience  of  this  kind 
was  some  time  between  1840  <md  1850.  This 
style  of  government  was  allowed  to  go  by  de- 
fault finally,  and  about  18")2  it  was  incorpo- 
rated under  a  special  charter,  which  "Uncle 
Jack"  Hurst  says  was  as  voluminous  as  the 
■  history  of  the  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  and  as  binding  in  its  provisions  as  the 
laws  of  the  Medes  and  Persians.  This  charter 
was  repealed  in  a  few  years,  and  the  village  in- 
corporated under  a  special  act  of  the  Legisla- 
ture, and  the  following  Board  of  Trustees 
elected:  Benj.  Henry,  President;  W.  Holdcii, 
Treasurer;  W.  L.  Draper,  Clerk;  andCatlin 
Preston,  John  R.  Hurst  and  J.  O.  Harness.  In 
1875,  it  was  re-incorporated  under  the  general 
law,  and  the  following  trustees  elected:  John 
Harness,  President;  I.  N.  Lowe,  Clerk;  C.  W. 
Keys,  Treasurer;  J.  M.  Wilhite,  Police  Magis- 
trate; and  R.  W.  Truitt,  Frank  Brivogal,  W. 
P.  Claypool  and  Geo.  W.  Wood.  The  pre- 
sent board  are,  C.  V.  Newton,  President;  H. 
H.  Flesher,  Clerk;  M.  P.  Rackerby,  Treas- 
urer; M.  T.  Wolf,  Police  Magistrate;  and 
Lewis  Adams,  Henry  Draper,  C.  W.  Keys, 
Green  Becknal  and  Jack  Plough. 

Destructive  conflagrations  and  disastrous 
overflows  are  common  to  Hutsonville.  The 
town  has  been  inundated  by  the  roaring  Wa- 
bash scores  of  times  and  much  property  de- 
stroyed. It  has  been  burnt  out  so  often  that 
a  fire  is  no  longer  a  noveltv  to  its  citizens. 


The  two  great  elements — fire  and  water — 
seem  to  have  conspired  against  the  growth 
and  prosperity  of  the  place.  What  the  floods 
leave  fire  sweeps  away,  and  as  Shakespeare 
says:  "  So  thickly  do  they  follow  as  to  tread 
on  each  other's  heels."  The  great  overflow  of 
1875 — the  "  August  fresh  " — of  which  so 
much  has  been  said,  was  an  epoch — a  kind  of 
chronological  starting  point  from  which  all 
matters  of  village  gossip  dated.  But  the 
"  February  fresh  "  of  1SS3,  put  the  "August 
fresh  "  of  1875  in  its  little  bed,  and  closed  the 
mouth  of  the  "  oldest  inhabitant "  with  ten  or 
twelve  inches  more  of  water  than  the  Wabash 
marked  in  the  great  flood  of  1828,  or  in  that 
of  1875.  The  "  February  fresh "  takes  the 
place  of  the  "August  fresh,"  thus  constituting 
a  new  starting  point  in  the  town's  chro- 
nology. 

To  conclude  its  history,  Hutsonville  is  noted 
for  many  things.  Not  the  least  of  these  are 
the  courtesy  of  its  inhabitants,  the  beauty  of 
its  women,  the  integrity  of  its  business  men, 
its  calamities  from  fire  and  water,  and  its 
many  burglaries. 

West  York,  a  small  village  situated  on  the 
railroad  in  the  extreme  north  part  of  the  town- 
ship, was  laid  out  Ijy  Ezekiel  Bishop,  Es^q.,  an 
early  settler  in  this  section  of  the  county.  It 
grew  out  of  the  building  of  the  railroad,  and 
has  a  population  of  about  a  dozen  families  at 
the  present  time.  The  first  store  was  kept  by 
H.  J.  Musgrave,  who  sold  out  to  G.  W.  Bishop. 
The  store  is  now  kept  by  Buckner  Brothers. 
It  is  a  good  grain  point,  and  two  grain  ware- 
houses are  in  operation,  one  by  G.  W.  Bishop, 
and  the  other  by  S.  C.  Brevoe. 

The  first  car-load  of  grain  shipped  from 
Crawford  Count}',  was  by  Jesse  C.  Musgrave 
and  G.  W.  Bishop,  the  pioneer  grain  dealers  of 
West  York.  The  car  was  loaded  at  Quaker 
Lane,  and  run  out  on  Sunday,  March  26,  1875, 
b}'  the  construction  train,  as  no  regular  trains 
had,  at  the  time,  been  put  on  the  road.     


CHAPTER   XIY.* 


LICKING   TOWNSHIP-DESCRIPTION,    BOUNDARIES    AND   TOPOGRAPHY-EARLY    SETTLE- 
MENT—PIONEER IMPROVEMENTS  AND  INDUSTRIES— VILLAGES— EARLY 
SCHOOLS,  ETC— CHURCHES  AND  CHURCH  BUILDINGS. 


THE  events  of  every-day  life  are   like    the 
stones  in  a  Mosaic,  each  going  to  make  up 
the  whole  picture,  and  it  is  often   th;it   these 
trifling  occurrences  are  of  far  more  interest  to 
us  than  the  great  events  of  the  time.     Doubt- 
less the  buiiders  of  the  Parthenon  were  more 
pleased    with   the   goodness    of    the    midday 
meal  which  their   wives   brought  thein   than 
they  were  with  the  magnificence  of  the  grand 
temple  they  wore  erecting.     In  all  probability 
Shakspeare  thought  more  of  the  acting  quali- 
ties of  the  ideal  characters  he  created  than  of 
the  echoes  thny  would  send  down  through  the 
lonor  corridors  of  time.     So  in  the  annals  of  a 
county  or  town,  the  historian's  aim  is  to  chron- 
icle, not  great  events  that  affect  the  destiny 
of  a  nation,    but  rather  the  homely  events  of 
everv-day  life,  and    such    as    have    occurred 
•within    the    last    sixty    years.     The  pioneers 
who  bore  the  brunt  of  toil  and  danger;  whose 
lives    were   spent,  not    in    the  lap  of  luxury, 
surrounded  by  affluence,  but  amid  perils  and 
manifold  hardships;    and   the    j-outh    whose 
infant  cradles  were  rocked  to  the  music  of  the 
■wild     wolf's  howl — these    and  kindred   inci- 
dents are  such  as  embellish  the  early  hist  Ty 
of  this  part  of  Illinois,  and  are  of  more  inter- 
est to  us  than  the  great  questions  which  shake 
empires  and    kingdoms.       These  scenes  and 
incidents,  together   with  those  who  figured  in 
them,  deserve  perpetuation  in   history.     The 
majority  of  the  original  pioneers  have  passed 
away;  but  few  of  the  old  guard  remain,  and 

*  By  G.  N.  Beny. 


manv    of   their    children,  too,   have  followed 
them  to  that  "  bourne  from  whence  no  traveler 
returns."      It  is  highly  fitting  then  that  a  rec- 
ord of  the  "old  times"  should   be    maile   to 
stand   as   a   monument  to  their  industry  and 
hardships.       Licking   township  occupies    the 
northwest  corner  of  Crawford  County,  and  is 
eight    miles    in     extent     from    east    to  west 
and    seven    miles  from    the   northern   to    tlie 
southern    boundarv.        It     contains     fifty-six 
sqtiare     miles    of   territory    and    possesses    a 
pleasant  diversity  of  surface,  with  prairie  aud 
woodland  alternating  in   about  equal  propor- 
tions.    An  arm  of  the  Dolson  prairie  extends 
through  the  eastern  part  of  the  township  from 
north  to  southwest,  embracing  an  area  of  about 
twelve    hundred   and    sixty    acres.      Willow 
prairie  lies  near  the  central  part  and  includes 
a  scope  of  land  about  three  and   a  half  miles 
long  from  north  to  south  and    three  miles   in 
extent    from    east   to    west,    while    White's 
prairie  occupies  a  strip  about  one  and  a  half 
miles  in   width,  along  the   western  border  of 
the  township.     These  prairies  possess  a  gently 
undulating  surface,  and  a  rich  gray  loam  soil 
which    is    well   adapted  for   agricultural   pur- 
poses.     The    subsoil   is   clay,   which   renders 
*  farmincr,  during  wet  seasons,  rather  difficult, 
owing  to  its  impervious  nature.     The  wooded 
portions  of  the  township  are  more  uneven,  and 
along  the  various  water-courses   by  which  the 
country  is  drained  the  land  is  somewhat  irreg- 
ular and  broken.     The  original  forest  growth 
consisted  of  various    species    of    oak,  black 
and  white  walnut,  sugar  maple,  elm,  sycamore, 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


161 


ash,  hickory,  sassafras,  persimmon,  locust, 
and  a  number  of  other  varieties.  The  under- 
growth consists  of  hazel,  sumac,  dog-wood, 
spice-bush,  paw-paw,  grape,  wild  plum,  etc. 
The  immediate  valleys  of  the  streams  in  the 
southern  and  central  portions  of  the  township 
are  well  titnbered  and  occasionally  there  are 
to  be  seen  isolated  copses  or  trroves  in  the 
open  prairie.  But  in  these  the  trees  do  not 
exiiibit  that  thrifty  sxrowth  characteristic  of 
the  forests.  The  timbered  land  possesses  a 
soil  superior  in  many  respects  to  the  prairies 
for  general  farming  purposes.  It  is  of  a 
clayey  nature,  wears  well,  and  seems  espe- 
cially adapted  to  wheat  and  the  other  small 
grains.  The  township  is  traversed  by  several 
streams,  among  which  are  Muddy  Creek, 
Maple  Creek,  Willow  Creek,  and  Big  Creek. 
The  last  named  flows  through  the  southeast 
corner  of  the  township,  and  is  a  stream  of  con- 
siderable size  and  importance.  Muddy  Creek 
crosses  the  northern  boundary,  in  section  1, 
flows  diagonally  through  the  township  in  a 
southwesterly  direction  and  leaves  from  sec- 
tion 6.  In  its  course  it  receives  a  number  of 
affluents,  the  principal  of  which  is  Maple's 
branch,  which  flows  a  southerlv  course,  through 
sections  3,  9  and  16.  Willow  Creek  is  formed 
by  the  junction  of  two  small  streams  in  sec- 
tion 7,  from  which  point  it  flows  a  southerly 
course  and  leaves  the  township  from  section 
1,  about  two  miles  from  the  western  boundary. 
The  township  is  noted  as  an  agricultural 
region  and  some  of  the  largest  and  best 
improved  farms  in  the  county  are  to  be  seen 
■within  its  limits.  There  are  many  fine  graz- 
ing districts  in  various  parts  of  the  country, 
and  stock-raising  is  rapidly  coming  to  the 
front  as  an  industry. 

The  advent  of  pioneers  into  that  portion  of 
the  county  embraced  within  the  limits  of 
this  township  dates  back  to  a  period  more 
than  sixty  years  gone  by,  but  by  whom  the 
first  settlement  was  made  can  not  be  correctly 


determined.  It  is  known,  however,  that  a 
number  of  transient  sattlers  had  "squatted" 
on  Congress  land  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
township  as  eariy  as  the  year  IS'^O,  but 
beyond  erecting  a  few  insignificant  cabins, 
and  clearing  small  patches  of  ground,  they 
made  no  improvements.  The  names  of  these 
squatters,  and  facts  concerning  them,  have 
been  lost  in  the  lapse  of  time,  and  any  attempt 
to  designate  their  location  would  be  mere 
conjecture.  A  man  by  name  of  Phelps,  of 
whom  but  little  is  known,  settled  one  mile 
north  of  Henry  Kerby's  farm,  about  the  year 
1820,  where  he  buiit  a  rude  cabin  and 
improved  about  an  acre  of  ground.  He  came 
to  this  part  of  the  country  from  one  of  the 
southern  States,  and  like  many  of  the  precur- 
sors of  civilization,  was  induceil  to  come  west 
in  quest  of  game,  which  at  that  time,  was 
plentiful,  and  easily  procured.  His  wants 
were  few  and  easily  satisfied  and  he  led  a 
charmed  life  in  quest  of  his'  favorite  pursuit, 
until  the  year  1S20,  when  on  the  appearance 
of  more  permanent  settlers  he  left  the  country 
and  went  further  west. 

Among  the  earliest  inhabitants  of  Licking 
is  remembered  one  John  Mdler,  a  native  of 
Philadelphia,  who  settled  temporarily  near 
the  southern  boundary  of  the  township  in 
section  3,  about  the  year  1821.  He  was  a 
true  type  of  the  backwoodsman,  and  led  a 
wild,  free  life  in  his  isolated  cabin,  untram- 
meled  by  the  usages  and  exactions  of  society 
for  which  he  had  the  utmost  contempt.  He 
was  an  expert  with  the  rifle,  and  spent  the 
greater  part  of  his  time  hunting  and  trapping, 
and  realized  enough  from  the  sale  of  furs  and 
wild  game  to  keep  his  family  in  such  articles 
of  clothing  and  groceries  as  they  needed, 
which  fortunately  were  few.  He  sold  his  im- 
provements to  John  Howard  in  the  fall  of 
1824,  and  moved  west,  and  finally  made  his 
way  to  California.  A  number  of  years  later 
he  returned  to  the  township  and  entered  land 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


near  the  central  part,  wliere  he  lived  until 
the  time  of  his  death,  about  twenty  years 
ago.  His  reputation  for  honesty  was  not  of 
the  highest  order,  and  he  was  detected  in 
manv  petty  acts  of  thievery.  His  chief  means 
of  support  after  game  had  disappeared  from 
the  country,  was  derived  from  his  hogs  of 
which  he  kept  large  numbers.  William  John- 
son came  to  the  township  about  the  year  1833, 
and  made  a  few  improvements  on  the  farm 
at  present  occupied  by  Henry  Kerby.  John- 
son immigrated  to  this  State  from  Indiana  in 
an  ox  cart,  and  settled  first  near  Hutsonville, 
where  he  remained  but  a  short  time.  He  was 
in  many  respects  like  his  neighbor  Miller,  and 
ilepended  for  a  livelihood  upon  his  rifle  which 
was  his  most  valuable  piece  of  property.  He 
lived  where  he  first  loi'atcd  about  six  j'ears, 
when  he  sold  his  cabin  and  moved  further 
northwest  near  the  Bellaire  road,  where  he 
afterward  became  possessor  of  a  small  farm 
on  which  he  resided  until  the  year  18G6. 

An  early  settler  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
township  was  John  Howard,  whose  arrival 
dates  from  the  year  1826.  He  was  a  native 
of  Kentucky,  and  was  induced  to  immigrate 
to  this  State  in  the  hope  of  securing  land, 
which  could  be  obtained  at  that  early  day  at 
a  very  nominal  price.  The  family  came  in  a 
wagon,  and  were  many  weeks  on  the  journev, 
owing  to  the  wet  condition  of  the  season  and 
the  absence  of  roads,  much  of  the  way  lay 
through  an  almost  unbroken  wilderness, 
through  which  roads  had  to  be  cut,  thus  ren- 
dering the  trip  very  slow.  Howard  made 
his  first  settlement  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
county,  near  Palestine,  where  he  lived  for  a 
number  of  years  before  moving  to  this  town- 
ship. He  purchased  the  improvements  which 
Miller  had  made  and  moved  his  family  here 
in  the  fall  of  the  year  mentioned,  and  until 
the  time  of  his  death  in  1849  was  promi- 
nently identified  with  the  development  of  the 


township.     One  daughter,   Mrs.  Kirby,  is  liv- 
ing in  the  townstiip  at  tlie  present  time. 

In  the  spring  of  18  J6  Eraslev  Curtis,  a  na- 
tive of  North  Carolina,  immigrated  to  Lick- 
ing, and  was  joined,  the  fall  of  the  same  year, 
by  James  Cox,  both  of  whom  selected  homes 
near  the  central  part  of  the  township.  Curtis 
did  not  make  any  improvements  for  a  number 
of  years,  beyond  erecting  a  rude  cabin,  and 
was,  like  many  of  the  early  settlers,  a  hunter 
and  trapper.  He  afterward  entered  land  near 
where  he  located,  and  for  about  twenty-three 
years  was  a  resident  of  the  township.  Cox 
came  frotn  Indiana,  and  was  no  credit  to  the 
community  in  which  he  settled.  He  raised 
a  large  family  of  boys  all  of  whom  inherited 
in  a  marked  degree  their  father's  evil  dispo- 
sition and  bad  habits,  and  grew  up  to  be  the 
terror  of  the  country.  Becoming  implicated 
in  some  difficulty  of  a  serious  nature,  and 
fearing  prosecutioTi,  the  boys  and  the  old  man 
left  the  country  about  the  year  1843,  and 
when  last  heard  from  vrere  in  the  State  of 
Missouri.  Other  settlers  in  1836  were  Will- 
iam Maples,  who  located  in  section  11, 
in  northern  part  of  the  township;  William 
Cooley,  a  native  of  North  Carolina,  who  set- 
tled near  the  present  site  of  Portersville, 
where  he  made  extensive  improvements, 
and  William  Goodwin  who  came  from  Indi- 
ana and  entered  land  in  section  33,  near 
Hart's  Grove.  John  Hart  came  a  little  later, 
and  entered  land  near  the  grove  which  bears 
his  name.  He  was  born  in  Virginia,  and 
left  his  native  State  for  Kentucky  immedi- 
ately after  his  marriage.  He  cleared  a  good 
farm  in  the  latter  State,  and  lived  on  it  for 
twenty  years,  accumulating  in  the  meantime 
considerable  property.  He  lost  this  farm 
through  a  defect  in  the  title,  and  spent  all  of 
his  hard-earned  wealth  lawing  for  its  recov- 
ery. After  his  possessions  were  all  gone  he 
determined  to  emigrate,  which  he  did  in  the 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


163 


smninorof  1S33,  and  came  with  his  family  to 
Piili-'stiiie,  arrivinp^  there  with  iiut  few  shil- 
lings in  his  poclcet.  lie  rented  land  near  the 
river,  where  he  remained  for  two  years,  at 
the  expiration  of  which  time  he  found  him- 
self in  possession  of  a  sufficient  amount  of 
money  to  enter  eighty  acres  of  land.  He 
made  his  first  entry  in  section  34,  and  moved 
his  family  to  his  new  home  a  few  weeks  later. 
He  improved  a  good  farm,  which  was  his 
home  until  the  year  185'^.  A  son,  .facol)  Hart, 
came  with  his  father  to  the  country,  and  has 
been  a  prominent  resident  of  the  township 
for  forty-nine  years.  He  settled  near  Big 
Creek  a  few  years  after  his  arrival,  where  he 
lived  for  about  ten  years,  when  he  sold  and 
moved  near  the  western  part  of  the  township 
on  Willow  Creek,  his  present  place  of  resi- 
dence. 

During  the  year  1837  the  following  persons 
became  residents  of  Licking.  Sargent  Hill, 
John  Tate,  William  Dicks,  .lames  Hollowell, 
"  Rick  "  Arnold,  and  a  man  by  name  of  Lan- 
dern.  Hill  came  from  North  Carolina  and  set- 
tled in  the  eastern  part  of  the  county  in  an 
earlv  day.  He  entered  land  in  section  25  in 
this  township,  which  is  still  in  possession  of 
his  descendants.  Hill  was  a  prominent  citi- 
zen, and  his  deseen(hants  are  among  the  lead- 
ing and  substantial  business  men  of  the  coun- 
ty. Tate  located  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
township  in  section  34,  where  he  entered 
land.  He  came  from  North  Carolina  in  coni- 
j)any  with  a  number  of  other  families,  the 
most  of  whom  settled  on  the  river.  He  lived 
in  the  township  about  twenty  years,  when  he 
sold  out  and  moved  to  Vandalia.  Dicks  was 
a  native  of  North  Carolina  also,  but  had  lived 
in  Indiana  a  number  of  years  prior  to  moving 
to  this  State.  He  entered  land  in  section  11 
a  short  distance  north  of  the  village  of  Annap- 
olis, and  for  twenty-five  years  was  promi- 
nently identified  with  the  township.  His 
death    occurred    in    1857,    and    the  place  on 


which  he  lived  is  at  the  present  time  owned 
by  the  Cunningham  heirs.  James  Hollowell 
was  born  in  Virginia,  but  was  taken  to  Indi- 
ana by  his  parents  when  but  six  years  of  age. 
He  lived  in  Indiana  until  1836,  at  which  time 
he  made  a  tour  of  observation  through  the 
west  for  the  purpose  of  selecting  a  home.  He 
went  as  far  as  Arkansas  but  was  not  satisfied 
with  the  country,  and  on  his  return  passed 
through  the  northern  part  of  Crawford  County. 
The  appearance  of  the  land  here  pleased  him 
and  he  entered  a  tract  in  section  11,  to  which 
he  moved  a  short  time  afterward.  He  brought 
his  family  in  the  fall  of  1837,  and  domiciled 
them  in  a  rude  cabin  which  had  lieen  used 
bv  a  squatter.  Being  a  man  of  considerable 
energv  he  soon  had  a  more  commodious 
structure  erected  and  a  goodly  number  of 
acres  under  cultivation.  He  was  a  man  of 
unblemished  reputation  and  a  prominent  citi- 
zen of  the  township  for  a  period  of  nine  years. 
The  old  place  is  in  possession  of  his  son  Silas 
Hollowell,  one  of  the  oldest  living  settlers  of 
the  township  and  one  of  its  leading  ritizens. 
"  Rick  "  Arnold  settled  near  the  central  part 
of  the  township,  where  he  made  a  few  tem- 
porary improvements.  Later  he  entered  land 
near  the  southeast  part.  He  was  a  man  of 
considerable  intelligence,  and  served  the 
county  two  terms  as  sheriff,  having  been 
elected  about  the  year  1838.  He  moved  to 
Missouri  in  the  year  1848  and  died  in  that 
State  a  few  years  later.  Landern  located  in 
the  northern  part  of  the  township,  near  the 
village  of  Annapolis.  He  was  an  old  bachelor 
and  a  very  eccentric  genius,  and  seemed  to 
shun  all  communications  with  his  neighbors. 
He  kept  large  droves  of  hogs,  which  he  fat- 
tened on  the  mast  in  the  woods;  from  the  sale 
of  his  porkers  he  acquired  considerable  money 
which  he  hoarded  away  very  carefully',  being 
a  perfect  miser  in  his  love  of  the  "  filthy  lucre." 
He  sold  all  of  his  hogs  about  the  fall  of  1840, 
and  embarked   in  a   small  flal-hoat  for   New 


164 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


Orleans,  since  which  time  nothing  has  been 
lieard  of  him.  The  supposition  is  that  he  was 
robbed  and  killed  on  the  journey. 

About  the  same  time  the  Ibieg'MnG;'  settle- 
ments were  being  made  in  the  northern  and 
southern  parts  of  Licking.  A  few  pioneers 
made  their  way  to  the  western  part  of  the 
township.  Among  these  was  John  White,  or 
a?  he  was  more  familiarly  known,  "Fluker" 
White.  He  settled  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
county  when  Palestine  consisted  of  but  few 
houses,  and  participated  in  the  battle  which 
■was  fought  at  that  place  between  the  settlers 
and  Indians.  In  this  engagement  he  was 
shot  through  the  body  with  an  arrow  and 
given  up  for  dead  by  his  comrades.  He  ral- 
lied, however,  and  lived  a  number  of  years  to 
relate  his  narrow  escape  from  death  at  the 
hands  of  the  red-skins.  His  first  improvement 
in  this  township  was  made  a  little  southeast 
of  the  village  of  Bjllaire,  where  he  lived  until 
about  the  year  1845,  at  which  time  his  death 
occurred.  Jackson  James  settled  in  the  same 
locality  about  the  same  time,  and  became 
possessor  of  a  considerable  tract  of  real  estate. 
Mortimer  Parsons,  Elijah  Clark,  Tobias  Liv- 
ingston and  James  Metheny  were  early  resi- 
dents in  the  western  part  of  the  township 
near  Bellaire.  In  addition  to  the  settlers  al- 
ready enumerated  the  following  persons  found 
homes  within  the  present  limits  of  Licking 
prior  to  1840:  Thomas  Boring  settled  in  sec- 
tion 3;  Daniel  Coate,  northern  part  in  section 
2;  James  Dixou  and  Ezekiel  Rubottom  in  the 
same  section;  Jacob  Mullen,  section  25;  Igel 
Beeson  in  southwest  part;  James  Boyd,  sec- 
tion 1;  R.  G.  Morris,  same  section;  Jeremiah 
Willison,  section  6:  Uriah  Hadley,  section  20; 
James  Netherby,  section  24;  John  Bonham 
in  same  locality;  William  B.  Newlin  and  B. 
Clark,  section  25,  and  Henry  Kerby  in  south- 
ern part  on  section  3.  Kerby's  marriage  to  a 
daughter  of  John  Howard's  was  among  the 
first  events  of  the   kind    ever   solemnized    in 


this  township.  From  the  year  1840  to  1850  a 
tide  of  immigration  came  into  the  township 
from  Ohio,  the  majority  of  the  settlers  hailing 
from  Licking  County  of  that  State,  which  fact 
suggested  the  name  by  which  the  township  is 
at  present  known. 

The  hardships  of  the  early  settlers  in  their 
efforts  to  secure  homes  for  themselves  and 
their  posterity  are  but  a  repetition  of  those 
experienced  in  other  portions  of  the  county, 
with  the  exception,  perhaps,  that  thej'  were 
not  quite  so  severe,  owing  to  settlements  be- 
ing made  elsewhere  a  little  earlier.  But  life 
in  this  locality  in  the  early  days  was  hard 
enough.  The  ground,  owing  to  its  wet  nature 
and  the  lack  of  necessary  agricultural  imple- 
ments, made  small  crops  a  necessity.  Corn  was 
the  principal  product,  no  wheat  beina:  raised 
until  a  number  of  years  had  elapsed  from  the 
date  of  the  first  settlement.  The  first  wheat 
was  raised  in  small  patches,  two  acres  being 
considered  a  large  crop.  Harvesting  was 
done  by  the  old-fashioned  reap  hook  and 
sickle,  neighbors  helping  for  help  in  return. 
Considerable  attention  was  given  to  the  rais- 
inc  of  buckwheat  bj^  the  early  settlers,  and 
on  almost  every  farm  could  be  seen  a  patch 
of  this  grain,  which,  at  thai  time,  could  always 
be  sold  for  a  good  price  in  the  maikcts  of 
Palestine,  York  and  Terre  Haute.  Wild 
honey  was  found  in  large  quantities  in  the 
woods  and  formed  one  of  the  chief  sources  of 
revenue  to  the  pioneer,  as  it  could  readily  be 
exchanged  for  dry  goods  and  groceries  at  the 
various  market  places.  Bees-wax,  venison 
hams  and  deer-skins  were  articles  of  com- 
merce, by  means  of  which  the  pioneer  farmer 
was  enabled  to  pay  off  many  of  his  debts. 

The  early  settlers  of  Licking  obtained  their 
flour  and  meal  from  the  older  settlements  in 
the  eastern  part  of  the  county,  and  it  was 
not  until  about  the  year  1848  that  a  mill  was 
erected  within  the  present  limits  of  the  town- 
ship.    The    first    mill    of  which  we  have  any 


HISTOHY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


365 


knowledge  was  erected  by  Henry  Varner  on 
Willow  Creek  near  the  southern  boundary  of 
the  township  some  time  during  the  year 
mentioned.  It  was  a  rude  aflfair,  contained 
but  one  buhr  which  had  been  manufactured 
from  a  "nigger  head,"  and  was  operated  by 
water  power.  The  building  was  a  small 
frame  structure  eighteen  hy  twenty  feet  and 
one  story  high.  The  mill  was  in  operation 
ahout  ten  years  and  did  a  very  good  business 
considering  its  capacit}-.  A  man  by  name 
of  Tregul  erected  an  ox-mill  on  his  farm  near 
the  central  part  of  the  township  a  few  years 
later,  which  he  operated  very  successfully  for 
si-v  or  eigiit  years.  It  was  kept  running  night 
and  day  for  some  time  after  its  erection  in 
order  to  suppU'  the  demand  made  for  flour. 
The  old  building  disappeared  long  since,  and 
at  the  present  time  not  a  vestige  remains  to 
mark  the  spot  it  occupied. 

In  the  year  1853  a  steam  flouring  mill  was 
built  about  one  mile  west  of  the  village  of 
Annapolis  by  Holmes  &  Doty.  It  was  a 
frame  building  two  stories  high,  and  had  luit 
one  run  of  buhrs.  A  saw  was  afterward  at- 
tached and  for  several  years  the  mill  did  a 
very  flourishing  business,  both  in  sawing  and 
grinding.  Holmes  &  Doty  operated  it  about 
five  years,  when  it  was  purchased  by  George 
Dixon  who  run  it  until  the  year  1858,  at 
which  time  it  was  burned.  The  boiler  and 
most  of  the  machinery  were  saved  from  the 
fire  and  sold  a  short  time  afterward  to  M. 
Vance  and  a  man  by  the  name  of  Bates,  who 
erected  another  mill  of  the  same  size  in  the 
same  locality.  They  operated  the  mill  for 
three  years  and  then  sold  it  to  a  man  by 
name  of  Brown,  who  moved  the  machinery 
to  Mississippi.  A  saw-mill  was  erected  bv  J. 
Ward  near  the  central  part  of  the  township 
about  the  year  1858.  It  was  a  water  mill  and 
did  a  very  good  business  while  there  was 
sufficient  water  in  the  creek  to  run  the  ma- 
chinery.    Allen  Tregul  purchased  the  mill  one 


year  later  and  operated  it  until  about  the  year 
1868.  The  Annapolis  steam  flouring  mill  was 
erected  about  the  j-ear  18GT  by  Jerry  Reese 
and  cost  the  sum  of  89,000.  It  is  a  large  two 
story  and  a  half  frame  building  tliiity  by 
seventy  feet  with  three  run  of  buhrs  and  a 
grinding  capacity  of  about  forty  barrels  of 
flour  per  day.  Reese  sold  to  Johnson  and 
Calvin  after  running  the  mill  a  few  years,  and 
in  1880  the  entire  interest  was  purchased  by 
.Johnson,  who  is  the  present  owner.  F.  S. 
Boyle  is  running  the  mill  at  the  present  time 
and  doing  an  extensive  business. 

The  roads  of  a  country  are  an  indication 
of  its  internal  improvement.  The  first  roads 
were  but  Indian  trails  through  the  thick  for- 
est and  over  the  prairies.  As  the  whites  came 
in  and  settled  the  lands  regular  roadways 
were  established,  but  with  no  reference  to 
section  lines.  The  first  legal  I}'  established 
hii'-hwav  in  liicking  appears  to  have  been  the 
Stewart  Mill  and  York  Road  which  was  laid 
out  by  John  B.  Richardson  as  early  as  the 
year  1842.  It  passed  through  the  eastern 
part  of  the  township  in  a  southerly  ilirection 
but  it  has  undergone  so  many  changes  during 
the  last  forty  years  that  it  is  difficult  to  de- 
fine the  original  route.  The  Palestine  and 
Bellaire  Road  which  passes  through  the  cen- 
tral part  of  the  township  from  east  to  west 
was  laid  out  and  established  about  the  year 
1845  and  is  still  one  of  the  leading  thorough- 
fares in  the  northern  part  of  the  county.  The 
Hutsonvillc  and  Bellaire  Road,  which  con- 
nects those  two  places,  passes  through  the 
northern  part  of  the  township  about  two  and 
a  half  miles  south  of  the  county  line.  It  was 
laid  out  in  the  year  1846  by  county  surveyor 
Fitch,  having  been  viewed  a  short  time 
previous  by  Doctor  Hill,  John  Vance  and  a 
man  by  name  of  Freelin.  It  is  still  a 
good  road  and  extensively  traveled.  Another 
early  highwav  is  the  Robinson  and  Martinf- 
ville  Road  which  was  laid  out  about  the  vcar 


166 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFOED  COUNTY. 


1845  or  1846.     The  origin-il  nuro,  which  has 
been   greatly   changed,    passed    through    the 
tc)wiiship  in  an  irregular  course  from  north  to 
south.     It    intersects    the     Hutsonville     and 
Bellaire  Road   at   the    village  of  Annapolis, 
about  one  mile  west  of  the  eastern  boundary, 
and  is  one  of  the  best  roads  in  the  township. 
A  number   of  other   roads    have  been  estab- 
lished from  time  to  time  which  intersect  each 
other  at  proper   intervals,  and   in  the  matter 
of  good  highways  Licking  is  as  well  supplied 
as  any  other  township  in  the  county. 
^    In  educational  matters  the  cit  zens  of  this 
township  have  always  taken    an  active  inter- 
est, and  schools    were    established    at  a  very 
early  day.     It  is  difficult  to  determine,  at  this 
distant  da)',  when,   where,  and   by  whom  the 
first    school  in    the    township  was  taught,  as 
opinions   concerning   the    matter  are  consid- 
erably at  variance.     From  the  most  reliable 
information,  however,  we  are   safe  in'  saying 
that  "Rick"  Arnold  taught  one  of  the  first 
terms  as  early  a,s  1837,  in  a  little  cabin  which 
stood  in   the  southern   part  of  the  township 
near  the  Kerby  farm.     This  cabin    had  been 
fitted  up  by  the  few  neighbors  living  in  the 
vicinity,  for    school  purposes,  and  was  in  use 
but  one  year.     Among  the    first  teachers  was 
Sarah  Ann  Curran,  who  taught  in  a  small  log 
building  which  had  been  used  as  a  residence 
by  the  family  of  James  Dixon.     This  house 
stood  in    the    northern  part   of  the  township 
near   the  present   village  of  Annapolis,   and 
was  used   for  school  purposes   but  one  year. 
Miss  Curran's  school  numbered  about  twelve 
pupils,  and  lasted  three   months.     A  man  by 
name    of    Hampton    taught    a   term  in    the 
southern  part  of  the  township  about  the  year 
1841,  and   used    for    the    purpose    a   vacated 
cabin  which   stood   on   the    farm,  at  present 
owned  by  Mr.  Rausard.      Hampton  is  remem- 
bered as  a  good  teacher,  and  his  school,  like 
all  others  at  that  day,  was  supported  by  sub- 
scription, and  lasted  about  three  months.     In 


the  year  1843  there  were  tvs-o  schools  in  the 
township.taught  respectively,  by  Sarah  Handy 
and  Huldah  Woods.  The  first  named  taught 
in  a  part  of  .Jonathan  Di.\on's  residence- in 
the  northern  part  of  the  tow{iship,  and  Miss 
Woods  wielded  the  birch  in  an  old  aban- 
doned dwelling  about  three  miles  southw.^st 
of  Annapolis.  These  ladies  were  both  good 
instructors,  and  for  a  number  of  j'oars  were 
identified  with  the  schools  of  Licking. 
Another  early  teacher  of  the  township  was 
John  Metheny,  who  had  charge  of  a  school 
where  Miss  Woods  taught  in  the  year  1844. 
He  was  a  professional  instructor,  but  had  to 
abandon  the  work  on  account  of  a  serious 
malady  which  unfitted  him  for  teaching. 
Ann  Lamb  taught  near  the  village  of  Bellaire 
the  same  year,  and  Louisa  and  Alice  V^ance 
taught  near  the  central  part  of  the  township 
a  couple  of  years  later.  The  first  building 
erected  especially  for  school  purpose  was 
the  Mount  Pleasant  school-house  which  stood 
three  miles  south  of  the  village  of  Annapolis. 
It  was  erected  in  1846  and  was  in  use  about 
thirty  years.  The  first  teacher  who  used  it 
was  Elias  Wilkins.  The  second  school-house 
was  erected  about  one  year  later  and  stood 
in  the  northeast  corner  of  the  township.  It 
was  a  hewed-log  structure  and  served  the 
two-fold  purpose  of  school  and  meeting-house, 
having  been  used  as  a  place  of  worship  by 
the  Quakers  for  a  period  of  ten  years.  It 
was  sold  in  the  year  1859  and  moved  to 
Annapolis,  where  it  is  still  standing  and  in  use 
as  a  dwelling.  The  township  was  supplied 
with  free  school  about  the  year  1855,  at  which 
time  the  present  districts  were  laid  off  and 
good  frame  buildings  erected.  Perhaps  no 
township  in  the  county  is  better  supplied 
with  school-houses  than  Licking,  and  it  is 
certain  that  nowhere  else  is  there  more  in- 
terest taken  in  educational  matters.  There 
are  fifteen  good  frame  buildings,  all  of  which 
are  neatly  finished    and    well    furnished,  and 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUXTY. 


167 


schools  are  m:uiitained  about  seven  months 
of  the  year.  The  present  township  board  of 
education  consists  of  the  following  gentle- 
men: Isaac  Lainl),  Robert  Lincoln  and  Peter 
Welbert.  Melvin  Colter  is  clerk  of  the  board, 
and  treasurer. 

The  Quakers  are  said  to  have  been  the 
pioneers  of  religion  in  Licking,  and  a  society 
of  them  was  formed  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  township  in  a  very  early  day.  Tlie  first 
services  were  held  at  the  residence  of  James 
Dixon  whose  house  was  used  as  a  meeting 
place  for  seven  or  eight  years.  Among  the 
first  members  of  this  society  were  William 
Dixon  and  wife,  1.  Beeson  and  family,  Mrs. 
.lames  Dixon,  William  Lindley  and  family, 
Nathan  Musgrove  and  family  and  Thomas 
Cox  a  wife.  A  regular  organization  was 
maintained  for  about  twenty  j'ears,  and  meet- 
ings were  held  in  the  school-house  which  stood 
on  the  Dixon  farm.  Owing  to  deaths  and  re- 
movals the  church  was  finally  abandoned. 
The  last  preacher  was  Andrev?  Tomlinson. 
The  scattered  members  of  the  old  society  were 
re-organized  a  few  years  ago  in  Hutsonville 
township,  where  they  have  a  strong  church 
and  a  handsome  house  of  worship.  The 
Methodists  organized  a  class  at  the  Mount 
Pleasant  school-house  about  the  year  1848  and 
have  maintained  a  society  in  that  vicinity 
ever  since.  They  used  the  school-house  as  a 
place  of  worship  until  it  was  torn  down,  and 
since  that  time  have  been  holding  services  at 
the  Union  school-house.  Atone  time  the  or- 
ganization was  very  strong  and  numbered 
among  its  communicants  the  majority  of  the 
citizens  in  the  vicinity.  It  has  decreased  in 
numbers  very  materially  during  the  last  fif- 
teen years  and  at  the  present  time  the  class 
is  but  a  remnant  of  its  former  self.  The  pas- 
tor in  charjre  is  Rev.  Mr.  Seeds,  who  is  assist- 
ed  in  the  work  by  Rev.  Mr.  Cullom. 

The  Portersville  Methodist  church  was  or- 
ganized about    the    year    18(33    with    twenty 


members.  The  first  meetings  were  held  in 
the  old  log  school-house  in  eastern  part  of  the 
village,  which  served  the  society  as  a  place  of 
worship  until  the  Union  church  building  was 
erected  in  1875.  The  class  was  organized  by 
the  Protestant  Jlethodists  and  continued  as  a 
church  of  that  denomination  until  the  year 
1878,  at  which  time  it  was  re-organized  as  a 
Methodist  Episcopal  society  through  the  efforts 
of  Rev.  Mr.  Stauffer.  Among  the  stated  sup- 
plies of  the  church  were  Revs.  Jackson  An- 
derson, Daniel  McCormick,  R.  Traverse,  R. 
Wright,  J.  D.  Dees,  Newton  Stauffer,  J.  M. 
Jackson.  The  pastor  in  charge  at  the  present 
time  is  Rev.  S.  A.  Seeds.  The  present  mem- 
bership of  the  church  is  fifty-one.  A  good 
Sundayschool  is  maintained  during  the  greater 
part  of  the  year.  A.  J.  Holmes  is  the  efficient 
superintendent. 

The  United  Brethern  Mission  at  Annapolis 
dates  its  history  from  the  year  18(36,  at  which 
time  Rev.  Richard  Belknap  came  into  the 
country,  and  at  the  suggestion  of  D.  B.  Shires, 
and  by  their  joint  efforts  a  class  of  about  fifty 
members  was  organized.  Belknap  preached 
two  years  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  James 
Page,  who  remained  with  the  church  one  year. 
Then  came  in  regular  succession  Revs.  Shep- 
herd, Samuel  Starks,  John  Helton,  Samuel 
Slusser,  Ephraim  Sliuey,  Daniel  Buzzard, 
William  Hillis  and  —  Zoeler.  The  present 
pastor  is  Rev.  John  Cardwell.  A  society  of 
the  M.  E.  church  was  organized  at  Annapolis 
a  number  of  years  ago  by  members  of  the  Un- 
ion church  who  lived  considerable  distances 
from  their  place  of  meeting.  The  class  was 
kept  until  the  year  1873,  when  it  was  dis- 
banded and  the  few  remaining  members  trans- 
ferred back  to  the  original  society.  In  1875 
the  members  living  in  Annapolis  and  surround- 
ing country  united  with  a  part  of  the  class 
which  met  at  Willow  church  and  organized  a 
second  class  in  the  village  with  a  member- 
•    ship  of  twenty-three.     The  organization   was 


168 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


brought  about  principally  by  the  efforts  of 
Dr.  J.  C.  Mason  and  Rev.  R.  Wetherford,  and 
the  society  became  a  regular  appointment  on 
the  Oblong  circuit.  Wetherford  was  pastor  for 
one  year  and  was  followed  by  Rev.  Ira  King, 
who  remained  on  the  circuit  for  the  same 
length  of  time.  The  next  pastor  was  Rev. 
Allen  Bartley;  then  came  in  regular  succes- 
sion, Newton  Stauffer,  James  G.  Dees  and  John 
M.  Jackson.  The  present  pastor  is  Rav.  S. 
A.  Seeds,  who  is  assisted  by  Kiv.  J.  W.  Cul- 
lom.  There  are  on  the  records  the  names  of 
thirty-seven  members  in  good  standing,  at  the 
present  time.  Services  are  held  alternately 
with  the  United  Brethren  in  the  Union  church 
building.  The  Union  church  house  was 
erected  by  the  citizens  of  Annapolis  and  vi- 
cinity, in  the  year  1875,  and  cost  the  sum  of 
$'3,000.  The  project  originated  with  Rev.  John 
Anderson  of  Portersville,  who  had  preached 
in  the  villajr.3  at  intervals,  using  the  school 
house  for  church  purposes.  Bjing  a  man  of 
considerable  enterprise,  he  soon  convinced  the 
citizens  that  a  more  suitable  place  for  wor- 
ship was  needed,  and  money  enough  vvas  soon 
collected  to  complete  the  work.  The  build- 
ing is  a  neat  frame  structure,  33xiS  feet, 
with  a  seating  capacity  of  about  three  hun- 
dred. It  was  finished  and  dedicated  in  Au- 
gust of  the  year  referred  to. 

The  Christian  Church  of  Portersville  was 
organized  in  the  year  1875,  bv  Elder  Wood, 
with  twelve  members.  The  following  pastors 
have  preached  fqr  the  society  at  different 
times  since  its  organization:  William  Beadle, 
Elders  McCash,  Lockhart,  Couner,  Boor  and 
Grimm.  The  church  at  the  present  time  is 
in  a  flourishing  condition,  and  numbers  about 
seventy  communicants;  services  are  held  every 
liOrd's  day.  The  Portersville  church  edifice 
was  erected  in  the  year  1875  by  the  public  at 
large  for  general  religious  purposes.  It  is  a 
frame  building  35x50  feet,  and  cost  the  sura 
of  $1,500.     The  house  is  open  to  all  denomi- 


nations and  at  the  present  time  is  used  by  the 
Methodists  and  Christians  alternately. 

The  West  Harmony  Christian  Church  was 
organized  a  number  of  years  ago  near  White's 
Piairie  in  the  western  part  of  the  township. 
The  society  is  in  good  condition  and  numbers 
among  its  members  soma  of  the  best  citizens 
of  the  community.  The  neat  temple  of  wor- 
ship used  by  the  congregation  was  erected 
about  seven  j'ears  ago. 

The  villiige  of  Bollaire  is  situated  in  the 
•western  part  of  the  township  on  section  14,  and 
dates  its  history  from  the  year  1844.  The 
necessity  of  the  village  was  created  by  the 
distance  of  that  localitv  from  any  trading 
points,  and  partly  through  a  spirit  of  specu- 
lation by  which  the  proprietor  was  actuated. 
The  first  store  in  the  place  was  kept  by  John 
Rym,  who  erected  a  small  hewed  log  house 
for  the  purpose  a  short  time  after  the  town 
was  platted.  He  did  a  good  business  for 
about  six  years  when  the  building  burned  to 
the  ground  anil  completely  destroyed  his  stock 
of  goods.  With  the  assistance  of  the  neigh- 
bors in  the  localitv,  another  house  was  soon 
al'terw  ird  erecti;d  and  Ryan  em'iarked  for 
the'  second  time  in  the  mercantile  business. 
Hi  continued  but  a  short  time,  when  he  moved 
his  goods  away.  Much  against  the  wishes  of 
the  neighbors,  who  assisted  in  building  his 
house  with  the  expectation  that  he  would  re- 
main with  them.  John  Brown  started  a  store 
soon  afterward,  which  he  kept  for  a  number 
of  years  in  the  Ryan  building  and  did  a  very 
good  business.  He  sold  his  goods  at  auction 
and  left  the  village  after  becoming  dissatisfied 
with  the  place.  A  few  months  later,  Catron 
Preston  enlarged  the  old  store-house  and 
stocked  it  with  a  large  miscellaneous  assort- 
mjnt  of  merchandise.  He  kept  a  very  good, 
store  for  about  fifteen  years  when  he  moved 
his  goods  to  Granville,  Jasper  Countv.  Ma- 
rion Dougherty  was  the  next  merchant  in  the 
village,  and  continued  in  business   until  a  few 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COL'XTY. 


169 


years  aj^o,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  a  man 
named  Mills.  The  villat^e  at  the  present  time 
is  a  mere  h.imlet  containing  a  couple  of  dozen 
houses  and  three  stores,  kept  respectively  by 
John  Pearson,  Benjamin  Purdell  and  Nicho- 
las Fi'ssler. 

In  the  year  18j'2  Richard  Porter  settled  on 
the  southeast  quarter  of  section  36  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  township  where  he  en- 
ojaged  in  the  blackstnithino:  Inisiness.  About 
one  \ear  later  Doctor  ilcAlister  of  Hutson- 
ville  l)ought  a  lot  of  Porter  on  which  lie 
erected  a  dwelling,  and  an  office  for  the  pur- 
pose of  being  nearer  the  central  part  of  his 
extensive  practice.  The  blacksmith  shop 
and  the  physician's  office,  together  with  sev- 
eral houses  that  had  been  built  near  by,  gave 
the  place  a  local  prominence,  and  a  small  vil- 
lage soon  sprang  into  existence.  In  1854 
Porter  sold  his  land  to  Catron  Preston  and 
Catlin  Cullers,  who  laid  out  the  town  of  Ber- 
lin the  same  year.  Henry  Leggett  was  one 
of  the  first  to  purchase  real  estate  in  the  new 
village,  which  he  did  soon  after  the  town  was 
laid  out,  and  at  once  commenced  the  erection 
of  a  store-room  and  dwelling.  This  building 
was  a  small  log  structure  and  was  used  by 
I-eggett,  who  kppt  a  little  grocerv  in  it  for 
two  years.  In  the  year  1856  Hamilton  Sil- 
vers built  a  frame  store-house  in  the  village 
which  he  stocked  with  a  general  assortment 
of  goods.  He  was  in  the  mercantile  business 
about  one  year  and  six  months,  when  he  sold 
out  to  a  man  by  name  of  Perry,  who  in  turn 
disposed  of  the  stock  to  Horace  Graves,  after 
running  the  store  for  a  short  time.  Graves 
did  a  fair  business  for  about  two  years,  when 
he  was  succeeded  by  his  son-in-law  William 
Linelnirger,  who  sold  goods  until  the  year 
186"J.  The  village  is  pleasantly  located 
on  the  Palestine  and  B.,'Ilaire  roa  1  and  lias  a 
population  of  about  one  hundred  souls.  Its 
business  interest  is  represented  bv  one  good 
dr^'  goods  and  grocery  store   kept   by   Morris 


and  Markwell — a  flour  exchange,  one  drug 
store  and  a  blacksmith  and  wagon  shop. 
The  name  of  Portersville  by  which  the  village 
is  commonly  known  was  given  the  place  in 
compliment  of  Richard  Porter  the  original 
owner  of  the  land. 

The  Portersville  Grange  was  organized  in 
the  year  lSi3  witii  a  membership  of  sixteen; 
meetings  were  held  in  the  school-house  until 
the  1875,  since  which  time  the  Union  church 
building  has  been  used  as  a  meeting  place. 
The  present  officers  of  the  lodge  are  G.  W. 
Pleasant,  master;  A.  J.  Holmes,  overseer; 
D.  W.  Faught,  sect.;  Isaac  Lamb,  treas.;  W. 
W.  Hall,  chaplain;  Jasper  Faught,  steward; 
John  Lineburger,  gate-keeper;  Mrs.  Jane 
Watson,  Pomona;  Mrs.  Tabitha  Lineburger, 
Ceres;  Mrs.  Abott,  Flora;  and  Mrs.  Belle 
Woods,  lady  ass't  steward. 

A.  G.  Murkey  came  to  the  township  in  the 
year  18  j6  and  located  in  the  eastern  part  at 
the  crossing  of  the  Hutsonville  and  Martins- 
ville roads  on  section  12,  where  he  started  a 
small  store. 

The  Corners,  as  the  place  was  called,  became 
quite  a  trading  point  for  the  farmers  of  the 
surrounding  country  by  affording  an  easy 
market  for  their  produce  which  Murkey  would 
haul  to  Terre  Haute  and  exchange  for  mer- 
chandise. About  one  year  and  a  half  later 
Thomas  Spencer  moved  into  the  locality  from 
Ohio  and  purchased  a  tract  of  land  lying  in 
sections  Vz  and  13,  on  which  he  laid  out  the 
village  of  Spencerville  in  December,  1858. 
The  scheme  was  purely  a  speculative  venture 
on  the  part  of  Spencer  who  saw,  as  he  thought, 
a  fortune  in  the  prospective  city.  Among 
the  first  to  purchase  real  estate  in  the  village 
were  Andrew  Myers,  Lorenzo  Price,  —  Cau- 
horn,  Richard  Porter  and  Doctor  Lowler. 
The  platting  of  the  town,  and  the  influx  of 
population  caused  thereby,  gave  new  impetus 
to  the  mercantile  business  and  several  stores 
were    soon  in   successful  operation.     Murkey 


170 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


continued  in  business  with  good  success  until 
the  year  1883.  The  second  store  in  the  vil- 
lage was  started  bv Oijlesbv  a  short  time 

alter  the  lots  were  laid  out,  and  was  kept  in  a 
small  building  which  had  been  used  for  a 
shoe-shop.  This  store  was  continued  about 
two  years  when  the  proprietor  moved  the 
goods  to  Brazil,  Indiana.  J.  F.  Johnson 
erected  a  large  frame  store  house  in  the  year 
1869,  wiiich  he  stocked  with  merchandise  to 
the  amount  of  several  thousand  dollars,  and 
has  continued  the  business  very  successfully 
ever  since.  A  third  store  was  brought  to  the 
village  about  the  year  1873  by  William 
Wheeler,  who  sold  goods  about  six  years, 
when  he  disposed  of  the  stock  to  Jacob  Myers. 
In  October,  1879,  a  second  village  called  An- 
napolis was  laid  out  just  west  of  Spencerville, 
which  it  joins.  The  proprietors  of  the  new 
town  were  Silas  and  Sarah  Ilollowell.  At  the 
present  time  both  places  are  known  as  Annap- 
olis and  comprise  a  population  of  about  two 
hundred  inhabitants.  The  village  is  sur- 
rounded by  an  excellent  agricultural  district, 
and  its  future  is  very  promising.  The  busi- 
ness of  the  place  is  represented  by  three 
stores  of  general  merchandise  kept  respect- 
ively by  J.  F.  Johnson,  Mrs.  Murphy  and 
Jacob  L.  Myers;  one  grocery  store  by  George 


Newlin;  two  small  notion  stoi'es,  and  one  good 
drug  store;  G.  L.  Baker  keeps  a  wagon  shop 
and  an  undertaking  establishment;  James 
Hill,  blacksmith;  C.  M.  Stauffer,  harness 
maker,  and  O.  E.  Page,  general  repair  shop. 
There  is  one  hotel  in  the  village  kept  by  G. 
L.  Baker. 

Crawford  Lodge  No.  66G  A.  F.  and  A.  M. 
was  organized  October,  1871,  with  the  follow- 
ing charter  members:  Edward  A.Bali,  Will- 
iam H.  Joseph,  S.  H.  Newlin,  Joel  L.  Cox, 
Thomas  G.  Athey,  James  Bennett,  T.  P.  Bar- 
low, Richard  Laney,  R.  L.  Holmes,  M.  P. 
Rackerby,  Henry  Stephens,  William  Laugh- 
ery,  Juhn  L.  Mount,  John  W.  Bline,  E.  S. 
Rathbone  ami  D.  D.  Bishop.  The  first  offi- 
cers were  Joel  L.  Cox,  W.  M.;  Thomas  G. 
Athey,  S.  W.,  and  James  Bennett,  J.  W. 
The  officers  in  charge  at  the  present  time  are 
T.  G.  Athey,  W.  M.;  J.  L.  Myers,  S.  W.; 
M.  T.  Vance,  J.  W,;  J.  C.  Griffith,  S.  D.; 
J.  N.  Thornburg,  J.  D.;  William  H.  Joseph, 
Sect.;  J.  W.  Bline,  Treas.;C.  H.  Price,  Tyler. 
The  Lodge  is  not  in  as  good  condition  as 
formerly,  and  at  the  present  time  numbers 
only  eighteen  members.  The  hall  in  which 
the  lodge  meets  was  erected  in  the  year  1871 
and  cost  $250. 


CHAPTER    XV. 


OBLONG  TOWN?HIP-PHYSICAL  FEATURES-SOIL  AND    PRODUCTIONS-THE    COMING 
THE  PIONEERS-DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  CODNTRY-EAKLY  INDUSTRIES- 
KOADS  AND  MILLS-VILLAGE  OF  OBLONG-CHURCH  HISTORY 
-EARLY  SCHOOLS-PATRONS  OF  HUSBANDRY. 


OF 


"But  long  years  have  flown  o'er  these  scenes  of  the 

past, 
And  many  have  turned  gray  in  the  winter's  cold 

blast; 
While  others  only  think  of  the  time  that  is  gone; 
They  are  bent  by  the  years  that  are  fast  rolling  on." 

HE  who  svttempts  to  present  v?ith  unvary- 
ing accuracy,  the  annals  of  a  county,  or 
even  of  a  district,  no  larger  than  a  township, 
the  history  of  which  reaches  back  through  a 
period  of  more  than  a  half  centurj',  imposes 
upon  himself  a  task  beset  with  many  difficul- 
ties. These  difficulties  are  often  augmented 
by  statements  widely  at  variance  furnished  by 
descendants  of  early  settlers,  as  data  from 
which  to  con'pile  a  true  and  faithful  record  of 
past  events.  To  claim  for  a  work  of  this 
character  perfect  freedom  from  error  would 
be  to  arrogate  to  one's  self  that  degree  of  wis- 
dom not  possessed  by  mortal  man.  To  give 
facts,  and  facts  only,  should  be  the  aim  and 
ambition  of  him  who  professes  to  deal  with 
the  past;  and  in  the  pages  which  follow  we 
incline  to  those  statements  supported  by  the 
greater  weight  of  testimony.  In  the  western 
part  of  Crawford  County  lies  a  prairie  which 
on  account  of  its  peculiar  shape  was  named  by 
the  early  settlers  who  located  near  it.  Oblong, 
a  name  afterward  applied  to  the  township 
which  forms  the  subject  of  the  following 
pages.  This  township  lies  in  the  west  central 
part  of  the  county  and  embraces  a  geograph- 


*  By  G    N.  Berry. 


ical  area  of  fifty-six  square  miles  of  territory 
being   eight   miles   in  extent  from  north  to 
south   and  seven  miles  from  the  eastern  to 
the   western   limits.      Surrounding  it  on  the 
northeast    and    south    are    the   townships    of 
Licking,  Robinson  and  Martin,  respectively, 
while   Jasper  County  on  the  west  make  up 
the    complete     boundary.       A     number     of 
streams  traverse  the  township,  among  which 
may  be  noticed  Big  Creek,  North  Fork,  Dog 
Wood,    Willow    and     Muddy  Creeks.       Big 
Creek,  which  affords  the  principal  drainage  of 
the  eastern  part,  enters  the  township  near  the 
northeast  corner,  flows  a  southwesterly  direc- 
tion  and  crosses  the  southern    boundary    in 
section  17.      It  is  a  stream   of  considerable 
size  and  importance  and  flows  through  a  well- 
wooded    and    somewhat    broken    section    of 
country.     Tlic  North   Fork   flows  a  southerly 
course  through  the   extreme   western    part  of 
the  township  and  receives  a  number  of  afllu- 
ents,  the  principal  of  which  is  Willow  Creek. 
The  last-named  stream,  waters  the   northwest 
corner   of   the    township,    flows   a  southerly 
course  and  empties  into  North  Fork  near  the 
county    line,    in  -section    30.      Dog    Wood 
branch    rises   in   Licking   Township,  flows  a 
southwesterly  course  through  Oblong  and  emp- 
ties into  Big  Creek,  in  section  17,  about  a  half 
mile  from  the  southern  boundary.     The  face 
of  the    country  presents  no  scenes  of  rugged 
grandeur,    but     rather    the   quiet    beauty    of 
rounded     outlines    of     surface,   clothed   with 
grassy  plains,  and  forests,   often   arranged   in 


174 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTV. 


piirk-like  order.  About  one  half  of  the  town- 
ship was  originally  woodland,  the  timbered 
portion  being  confined  principally  to  the 
eastern  and  western  parts  and  to  the  water 
courses  enumerated.  The  timber  found 
growing  here  is  similar  to  that  of  other  parts 
of  the  county,  and  consists  of  walnut  in  limit- 
ed quantities;  sugar  maple  along  the  creeks, 
elm,  ash,  hickory,  sassafras  and  the  difFer(?nt 
varieties  of  oak  common  to  this  part  of  the 
State.  Much  of  the  best  timber  in  the  town- 
ship has  long  since  disappeared,  and  many  of 
the  finest  farms  were  originally  covered  with 
a  heavy  forest  growth.  Oblong  Prairie,  to 
which  reference  has  already  been  made,  oc- 
cupies a  scope  of  territory  in  the  western  part 
of  the  township,  embracing  an  area  of  about 
ten  sections,  while  Willow  Prairie  includes  a 
similar  amount  of  land  in  the  northern  and 
central  portions.  Small  prairies  are  found  at 
intervals  in  the  southern  and  southeastern 
parts  of  the  township,  all  of  which  are  desig- 
nated by  names  peculiar  to  their  localities. 
The  soil  of  the  wooded  portion  is  a  rich  gray 
loam  underlaid  with  a  clay  subsoil,  which 
renders  it  susceptible  of  enduring  a  continued 
drouth.  The  prairie  soil  is  darker,  very  fer- 
tile and  well  adapted  for  general  farming  and 
grazing.  Agriculture  is  the  chief  resource  of 
the  people,  tlie  great  majority  of  whom  own 
land,  and  perhaps  in  no  division  of  the  county 
are  there  as  few  renters  as  in  this  township. 
One  happy  fact  upon  which  the  citizens  of 
Oblong  are  to  be  congratulated,  is  that  there 
are  no  large  tracts  of  land  owned  by  single 
individuals,  to  retard  the  country's  develop- 
ment. 

The  settlement  of  this  part  of  the  county 
dates  back  to  the  year  1830,  when  Lott  Watts 
made  the  first  permanent  improvement  in  the 
hitherto  undisturbed  forest.  Previous  to  his 
arrival,  however,  a  number  of  persons  had 
traversed  the  country  on  tours  of  inspection 
for  the  purpose  of  selecting  homes,  but  at  the 


date  mentioned  no  family  appears  to  have 
been  living  within  the  present  limits  of  the 
township.  Watts  was  a  native  of  Tennessee 
and  immigrated  to  this  State  a  few  years  prior 
to  1830,  settling  first  a  short  distance  north- 
east of  Robinson,  where  he  became  the  pos- 
sessor of  eighty  acres  of  land,  which  he  after- 
ward sold  to  Judge  Kitchell.  He  located  in 
the  southern  part  of  the  township  and  made 
the  first  entry  of  land  in  section  6,  one  year 
after  his  arrival.  He  was  a  man  of  consider- 
able note  and,  in  recognition  of  his  worth  the 
precinct  of  which  Oblong  originally  formed  a 
part,  was  named  in  compliment  to  him, 
"  Watts  Precinct."  At  the  first  election  he 
was  unanimously  called  to  the  office  of  justice 
of  the  peace  and  later  was  elected  associate 
county  judjje,  a  position  he  filled  very  cred- 
itably. He  was  a  resident  of  the  township 
until  the  time  of  his  death  in  1854.  Robert 
Watts,  a  brother  of  the  preceding,  came  to 
the  county  the  same  year  and  located  in  the 
same  locality.  He  settled  in  this  township 
about  the  year  1831,  on  land  at  present  in 
possession  of  William  Wood,  on  which  he 
lived  until  1871,  at  which  time  his  death  oc- 
curred. In  company  with  Robert  Watts  came 
Jesse  and  Jeremiah  York,  who  were  followed 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  same  year  by  Jesse 
Eaton.  Jesse  York  came  from  Tennessee 
and  had  lived  several  years  in  the  vicinity  of 
Robinson  before  moving  to  this  part  of  the 
county.  He  improved  eighty  acres  in  the 
southwest  part  of  the  township  which  he 
afterward  entered.  "  Uncle  "  Jesse,  as  he 
was  familiarly  called  by  the  early  settlers,  was 
a  man  of  character  and  influence  in  the  little 
pioneer  community,  and  did  much  both  by 
precept  and  example  to  improve  the  morals 
of  his  neighbors,  many  of  wlioin  stood  in 
special  need  of  culture  in  that  direction.  He 
was  a  pious  member  of  tl  e  Methodist  church 
and  opened  his  house  for  the  first  religious 
services  ever  held  in  the  township.      In   the 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


175 


year  18.J3  he  sold  his  farm  to  a  man  l)y  name 
of  Poarce  and  moved  to  the  northern  part  of 
the  State,  and  later  to  Missouri  whore  he  died 
several  years  nsn.  Jeremiah  York  vvas  a 
cousin  of  Jesse  and  a  native  of  the  same 
State.  He  settled  near  the  southern  limit  of 
the  township  on  land  which  he  entered  four 
years  later,  and  was  identified  with  this  part 
of  the  county  until  the  year  1865.  The  farm 
on  which  he  located  is  at  the  present  time 
owned  and  occupied  by  H.  Larabee. 

Jesse  Eaton  settled  on  North  Fork  near  the 
western  boundary  of  tlie  township,  where  he 
made  a  few  temporary  impiovements  on 
government  land.  lie  lived  in  that  locality 
a  couple  of  years  when  he  left  his  improve- 
ments and  moved  to  the  northeastern  part  of 
the  township,  whore  he  afterward  entered 
land  and  resided  until  the  year  1863.  Eaton 
was  a  minister  of  the  Old  School  Baptist 
church  and  preached  at  different  places 
throughout  the  township  during  the  early 
years  of  its  histor}'.  In  the  year  183-4  "  Arch  " 
York  and  Ezekiel  York,  relations  of  Jesse 
and  Jeremiah  York,  found  homes  in  the  town- 
ship, the  first  named  settling  in  the  southern 
part  near  the  Watts  farm,  where  he  lived 
until  the  year  1855  when  he  sold  out  and 
moved  to  Missouri.  Ezekiel  became  posses 
sor  of  a  good  farm  in  the  same  locality,  which 
he  retained  until  1868,  at  which  time  he  dis- 
posed of  his  possessions  and  followed  his 
brother  west.  In  striking  contrast  to  the  set- 
tlers enumerated,  who  were  all  miMi  of  princi- 
ple and  high  moral  worth,  was  George  Miller, 
a  squatter  who  settled  in  the  northeastern 
part  of  the  township  about  the  year  ISo-l. 
Miller  hailed  from  Kentucky  and  belonged  to 
that  class  of  characters  generally  found  on  the 
outskirts  of  civilization,  where  departure  from 
a  community  is  always  looked  upon  as  a  hap- 
py omen.  In  him  were  combined  the  quali- 
ties of  the  successful  hunter  and  trapper  in  a 
marked  degree,  to  whicii  were  added  the  ani- 


mal strength  and  low  cunning  so  essential  to 
the  bully  and  frontier  rough.  He  maintained 
his  family  principally  by  hunting,  but  did  not 
scruple  to  supply  his  larder  from  his  neigh- 
bors' smoke-houses  when  favorable  occasions 
presented  themselves.  He  lived  for  some 
time  in  Licking  Township  and  afterward 
moved  to  the  western  part  of  the  county  on 
North  Fork,  where  he  died  about  t!ie  year 
1863.  Another  character  deserving  of  spe- 
cial mention  and  similar  in  many  respects  to 
the  one  referred  to,  was  .James  Watts,  a  son 
of  Robert  Watts.  He  came  to  the  country  in 
company  with  his  father  and  soon  acquired  a 
wide-spread  reputation  as  a  hunter  and  back- 
woods fighter.  He  was  daring  almost  to  fool- 
hardiness,  and  many  are  the  adventurous 
exploits  related  of  him.  He  afterward  mar- 
ried a  daughter  of  William  Wilson,  built  a 
small  cabin  on  his  father's  farm  and  spent  the 
latter  years  of  his  life  trapping,  at  which  pur- 
suit he  acquired  considerable  means. 

In  the  year  1836  the  following  persons  witli 
their  families  were  added  to  the  townshiji's 
population:  Greenberry  Eaton,  John  Salis- 
bury, Elijah  and  John  Smith.  Eaton  settled 
in  section  36,  a  short  distance  north  of  the 
village  of  Oblong,  where  he  entered  land  the 
same  year  of  his  arrival.  He  was  a  cooper 
and  found  plenty  of  work  at  his  trade  in  sup- 
plying the  neighljors  with  barrels,  tubs  and 
buckets,  articles  which  they  had  hitherto  ac- 
customed themselves  to  do  without.  He  sold 
h!s  place  to  Reuben  Leach  in  the  year  1851, 
and  moved  from  the  township.  Salisbury  was 
a  native  of  Germany,  but  came  to  Illinois 
from  Indiana.  He.  settled  in  section  10 
about  two  and  a  half  miles  north  of  Oblong 
village,  where  by  industry  and  almost  nig- 
gardly economy  he  acquired  a  valuable  tract 
of  real  estate.  His  only  object  seems  to 
have  been  money,  and  ho  possessed  a  nature 
totally  devoid  of  any  refining  quality.  His 
close  dealings,  together   with  the  cruel  treat-| 


176 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFOltU  COLTXl'V. 


ment  of  his  wife  and  children,  gave  him  a  very- 
unenviable  reputation  in  the  community,  and 
his  friends  were  few  and  far  between.  The 
Smitii  brothers  were  Kentuckians  and  men  of 
roving  tendencies.  Elijah  made  his  first  set- 
tlement in  southern  part  of  the  township  on 
Dogwood  Creek,  where  he  remained  but  a 
short  time,  afterward  moving  about  from  place 
to  place  with  no  definite  place  of  residence. 
John  was  of  an  adventurous  nature,  and  spent 
the  greater  part  of  his  time  in  hunting,  which 
afiforded  his  chief  amusement  and  the  main- 
tenance of  his  family  as  ■well.  Another 
brotlier,  .Tames  Smith,  came  in  a  short  time 
afterward,  and  settled  east  of  Oblong,  where 
lie  became  the  possessor  of  forty  acres  of  land. 
He  was  a  good  man,  and  served  as  constable 
in  an  early  day,  being  one  of  the  first  in  the 
precinct  to  fill  that  office.  Prominently  iden- 
tified with  the  early  history  and  development 
of  Oblong  was  Joseph  Wood,  whose  settle- 
ment in  the  township  dates  back  to  the  year 
1839.  Wood  was  born  in  Virginia,  but 
moved  to  Vincennes,  Indiana,  as  early  as  the 
year  1809,  traveling  all  the  way  horseback, 
and  packing  the  few  household  goods  the 
same  way.  He  remained  at  Vincennes  about 
one  year  and  a  half,  when,  thinking  there 
were  better  lands  and  more  favorable  chances 
further  west,  he  moved  to  this  State  and  set- 
tled near  Palestine.  During  the  Indian  troub- 
les he  served  as  a  "ranger"  alongr  the  Wa- 
ft C5 

bash,  and  engaged  in  several  bloody  bouts 
with  the  redskins.  It  is  related  that  upon  one 
occasion  he  and  a  companion  were  so  hard 
pressed  by  the  Indians  that  they  were  com- 
pelled to  go  three  days  without  tasting  a  mor- 
sel of  food.  The  Indians  relaxed  the  pursuit 
on  the  fourth  day,  which  gave  the  rangers  an 
opportunity  to  rest  and  seek  some  nourish- 
ment. The  latter  was  afforded  by  a  coon, 
which  was  cooked  and  greedil}'  eaten  with- 
out the  use  of  salt  or  other  condiments.  Wood 
said    it    was    the  most  delicious. repast    he 


ever  ate  in  his  life.  At  the  close  of  the  In- 
dian troubles  Wood  settled  near  Palestine, 
and  engaged  in  farming  and  stock  raising. 
He  afterward  located  in  the  vicinity  of  Rob- 
inson, where  he  lived  until  1839,  when,  be- 
coming dissatisfied  with  the  country  on  ac- 
count of  the  milk-sick,  which  proved  a  seri- 
ous hindrance  to  his  stock,  he  moved  to  Ob- 
long Township.  He  settled  southeast  of  the 
village  of  Oblong  near  Big  Creek,  in  section 
3,  where  he  made  his  first  entry  of  land.  He 
afterward  entered  land  at  dift'erent  places  in 
the  township,  until  he  became  the  owner  of 
more  than  two  thousand  acres.  He  was  a 
man  of  considerable  prominence,  and  died  in 
the  year  1866.  The  old  homestead  is  at  the 
present  time  owned  by  his  sons,  J.  H.  and 
Robert  Wood,  both  of  whom  aie  prominent 
citizens  and  men  of  character.  Another  son, 
William  Wood,  came  to  the  township  in  com- 
pany with  his  father,  and  has  been  one  of  its 
leading  citizens  ever  since.  His  place  of 
residence  is  situated  about  one  mile  east  of 
Oblong  on  the  Vandalia  State  road.  Other 
settlements  were  made  in  18  J9  by  Richard 
Lecky,  a  son-in-law  of  Wood,  who  located 
near  the  eastern  boundary  in  section  3.  D.  F. 
Hale,  a  native  of  New  York,  who  entered 
land  in  northeastern  part.  Abraham  Wal- 
ters who  located  in  same  vicinity.  John 
Holingsworth  in  section  33,  and  Reily  York, 
who  made  improvements  in  southern  part  of 
the  township  on  section  18.  Later  came 
George  JeEFers,  who  entered  land  in  section 
27,  which  lie  afterward  sold  to  William  Hill. 
James  Boatright,  a  native  of  Tennessee,  who 
located  a  farm  in  section  23,  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  township.  Ira  King,  a  native  of 
■New  York,  who  settled  where  the  widow 
Henry  now  lives  in  section  27.  William  Wil- 
son, who  settled  in  section  31,  where  he  pur- 
chased land  of  John  Holingsworth  and  John 
McCrillis,  an  Ohioan,  who  located  in  section 
''32,  east  of  the   village  of  Oblong,   where  he 


HISTORY  OF  CIIAWFORD  COUXTY. 


177 


improved  a  fine  farm,  and  operated  a  tan 
vard.  Other  settlers  came  in  from  time  to 
time,  and  by  the  year  1850,  all  the  vacant 
lands  were  taken  up  and  the  township  well 
populated,  the  majority  of  the  imrai2;rants 
being  from  the  States  of  Ohio  and  Indiana. 
The  carving  of  a  home  in  a  new  and  unde- 
veloped country  a  half  century  ago,  was  a 
task  from  which  the  most  of  us  at  the  present 
day  would  be  willing  to  shrink.  Savages 
were  still  to  be  seen,  and  wild  animals  both 
fierce  and  dangerous  were  plenty,  and  roamed 
the  forests  and  prairies  everywhere.  Pro- 
visions, except  game,  were  scarce.  None  of 
the  luxuries  and  but  few  of  the  comforts  of 
life  were  to  be  had.  For  years  the  pioneer's 
home  was  a  rude  log  cabin  of  the  most  primi- 
tive type,  and  his  food  and  raiment  were 
equally  poor;  and  yet  the  early  settler  was 
happy  and  enjoyed  his  wilderness  life.  There 
are  those  still  living  in  Oblong  who  remem- 
ber the  rude  log  cabin  with  its  stick  chimney 
and  puncheon  floor,  the  spinning  wheel  and 
the  loom.  These  rough  times,  together  with 
tlie  relics  of  a  pioneer  age,  have  passed  away, 
and  the  country,  where  a  few  years  ago  they 
reigned  supreme,  is  now  the  cradle  of  plenty 
and  the  home  of  education,  progress  and 
wealth. 

The  pioneer's  attention  is  first  of  all  direct- 
ed to  the  im])ortance  of  a  mill,  and  one  of  the 
first  cares  is  the  erection  of  some  kind  of  rude 
contrivance  to  provide  his  family  with  the 
stafT  of  life.  The  first  mill  within  the  present 
limits  of  Oblong  was  erected  by  George  Miller 
near  the  northern  boundary  of  the  township 
as  early  as  the  year  18;)2.  It  was  a  horse 
mill  and  when  kept  running  constantly  could 
grind  about  fifteen  bushels  of  corn  per  day. 
Miller  operated  it  but  a  few  years  when  it  foil 
into  disuse  on  account  of  other  mills  being 
erected  in  different  parts  of  the  country. 
Richard  Eaton  built  a  water  mill  on  the  North 
Furk   in  the    western    part    of   the    township 


about  the  year  1833.  The  building  was  frame, 
its  dimensions  about  twenty  by  thirty  feet, 
and  two  stories  high.  It  was  a  combination 
mill  and  for  a  number  of  years  did  a  very 
good  business  both  in  grinding  and  sawing. 
Joseph  Wood  erected  a  mill  in  section  34  in 
the  eastern  part  of  the  township  about  the 
year  1840.  It  was  a  combination  mill,  had 
one  buhr  and  could  grind  when  kept  running 
steady  about  one  hundred  bushels  of  grain 
per  day.  It  was  a  frame  building  20  by  32 
feet,  and  two  stories  high.  It  was  operated 
by  the  water  of  Big  Creek  and  was  kept  run- 
ning about  sixteen  years  when  the  machinery 
was  removed  and  the  building  torn  down. 
The  Oblong  steam  flouring  mill  was  built  in 
18(59  by  John  Miller,  who  was  unable  to  com- 
plete it  on  account  of  a  financial  embarrass- 
ment. It  was  purchased  by  Wood  and  Con- 
drey  the  same  year,  who  finished  the  enter- 
prise, which  proved  a  very  successful  venture, 
by  supplying  a  long-felt  want  in  the  com- 
munity. The  building  occupies  a  space  of 
ground  30x40  feet,  is  two  stories  and  a  half 
high,  and  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  §3,000. 
Wood  and  Condrey  operated  the  mill  as  part- 
ners about  two  years  and  a  half,  when  the 
entire  interest  was  purchased  by  the  former, 
who  sold  to  Joel  Zeigler  one  year  later. 
Zeigler  ran  it  two  years  when  he  disposed  of  it 
to  W.  and  P.  Condrey.  It  afterward  passed 
into  the  hands  of  Levi  Stump,  who  in  turn 
sold  out  to  the  Kirtland  brothers,  the  present 
proprietors,  about  the  year  1879.  It  was 
thoroughly  remodeled  and  furnished  with  new 
and  improved  machinery  in  the  year  1881, 
and  at  the  present  time  is  considered  one  of 
the  best  mills  in  the  county.  It  has  three  run 
of  buhrs,  with  a  grinding  capacity  of  fifty 
barrels  per  day,  and  does  both  custom  and 
merchant  work. 

Among  the  early  Industries  of  Oblong  was 
a  distillery  which  stood  in  the  northeast  cor- 
ner of  the  township.     It  was   built   b}'   a  man 


178 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


by  name  of  Barlow  about  the  year  1849,  but 
did  not  prove  very  remunerative,  and  was 
abandoned  a  few  years  later.  A  wagon  and 
general  repair  shop  was  erected  in  an  early 
day  about  two  miles  east  of  Oblong  Village 
by  Robert  Tindolph,  who  worked  at  his  trade 
in  that  locality  for  two  years.  A  number  of 
wagons  made  at  this  shop  are  still  to  be  seen 
in  various  parts  of  the  country.  The  first 
blacksmith  shop  in  the  township  was  built 
about  the  year  1852  and  stood  in  the  northern 
part  near  the  Barlow  distillery.  It  was  built 
by  Jesse  Barlow,  who  operated  it  very  suc- 
cessfully for  four  or  five  years.  John 
McCrillis  opened  a  tan  yard  on  his  farm  east 
of  the  village  of  Oblong  in  the  year  1857, 
which  he  operated  until  1863.  A  very  good 
article  of  leather  was  made  at  this  yard,  and 
during  the  time  the  business  was  carried  on  it 
returned  a  fair  profit  to  the  proprietor.  A 
second  tan  yard  was  afterward  started  in  the 
village  by  David  McCrillis,  who  conducted 
the  business  on  a  more  extensive  scale.  He 
continued  it,  however,  but  two  years  when  he 
abandoned  the  business  to  engage  in  other 
pursuits. 

The  first  legally  established  highway  in 
Oblong  is  the  Vandalia  State  road  which 
passes  through  the  central  part  of  the  town- 
ship from  east  to  west.  It  was  laid  out  about 
the  year  1831,  and  has  been  since  that  time 
one  of  the  principal  thoroughfares  of  the 
county.  The  range  line  road  which  crosses 
the  township  from  north  to  south  was  sur- 
veyed about  the  year  1852.  It  intersects  the 
Vandalia  road  at  the  village  of  Oblong,  and 
is  the  second  road  of  importance  in  the  town- 
ship. The  Stewart's  Mill  and  York  road  was 
laid  out  in  a  very  early  day  through  the  east- 
ern part  of  the  township.  It  passes  through 
the  county  in  a  northeasterly  direction,  but 
has  undergone  so  many  changes  in  the  past 
twenty  years  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  de- 
scribe its  original  course.     Another  earlv  road 


known  as  the  Henry  road  crosses  the  northern 
part  of  the  township  and  was  laid  out  for  the 
purpose  of  connecting  Hanner's  mill  in  Jasper 
county  with  Robinson.  Other  roads  have 
been  established  from  time  to  time,  all  of 
which  are  well  improved  and  kept  in  good 
condition.  The  condition  of  the  country 
during  certain  seasons  renders  traveling  over 
these  highway's  exceedingly  difficult  on  ac- 
count of  the  mud,  but  such  is  the  nature  of  the 
soil  that  it  dries  out  very  rapidly  after  the 
frost  leaves  the  ground.  The  S.,  E.  and  S.  E. 
narrow  gauge  railroad  passes  from  east  to  west 
through  the  central  part  of  the  township.  It 
was  completed  in  the  year  1880,  but  up  to 
the  present  time  has  proved  of  little  benefit 
to  the  country.  Its  history  will  be  found  more 
fully  given  in  another  chapter. 

In  1853  D.  W.  OJell  built  a  store-house  at 
the  crossing  of  the  range  line  and  Vandalia 
roads,  near  the  central  part  of  the  township, 
and  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business.  The 
distance  of  the  locality  from  any  town — the 
nearest  market-place  being  about  ten  miles 
away — gave  the  "cross-roads"  quite  a  repu- 
tation, and  Odell's  store  soon  had  a  large  run 
of  customers.  Other  families  settled  in  the 
vicinity  from  time  to  time,  and  within  a  few 
years  quite  a  thriving  little  village  sprang 
into  existence.  Among  the  first  who  pur- 
chased real  estate  and  located  at  the  "  cross- 
ing" were  John  B.  Smith  and  Joel  Zeigler, 
two  blacksmiths,  who  erected  a  shop  shortly 
after  their  arrival.  David  McCrillis  was  an 
early  settler  in  the  village  also,  and  worked 
very  diligently  for  the  success  of  the  place. 
A  second  store  was  started  about  the  year 
1855  b}'  Lucas  and  Pearson  who  erected  a 
building  for  the  purpose  a  short  distance  west 
of  Odell's  building  on  the  west  Fide  of  the 
range  line  road.  The  firm  did  a  good  busi- 
ness for  about  two  years  when  they  sold  the 
house  and  moved  their  stock  to  Greenfield, 
Indiana.     In  1S58    William  Wood  erected  a 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


179 


two-story  brick  business  house  in  the  central 
part  of  the  village  which  he  stocked  with  a 
lar^e  assortment  of  sreneral  merchandise. 
The  presence  of  this  store  gave  additional  im- 
portance to  the  place  and  it  soon  gained  the 
reputation  of  being  one  of  the  best  trading 
points  in  the  southern  part  of  the  county. 
Wood  sold  goods  about  four  years  when  he 
disposed  of  his  stock  to  John  Smith,  who  did  a 
flourishing  business  until  the  year  18G7,  at 
which  time  the  store  was  purchased  by  Will- 
iam Parker  of  Robinson.  Parker  increased 
the  stock  and  continued  the  business  about 
two  vears  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Wood, 
Arnold  &  Muchmore.  The  firm  was  after- 
ward changed  to  Muchmore  &  McKnight  who 
are  doing  business  at  the  present  time.  Odell 
sold  goods  uninterruptedly  for  twenty  years 
■when,  becoming  tired  of  the  business,  he  closed 
out  to  the  Gooch  brothers,  who  have  had 
charge  of  the  store  since  187o.  In  the  mean- 
time the  population  of  the  place  had  con- 
stantly increased  and  at  the  earnest  solicita- 
tion of  the  citizens  of  the  village  and  sur- 
rounding country  the  town  was  regularly  laid 
out  and  platted  in  the  year  1872.  It  is  sit- 
uated in  the  southwest  corner  of  section  31  of 
town  7,  range  13  west,  and  was  surveyed  by 
A.  W.  Gordon  for  D.  W.  Odell,  proprietor, 
and  named  Oblong. 

Shortly  after  the  village  was  platted  a  num- 
ber of  lots  were  sold  and  several  buildings 
erected  among  which  was  the  business  house 
af  McQuillis  &  Buff  situated  on  lot  V2,  north 
of  Main  street.  Wirt  and  Wood  built  a  fine 
brick  store  house  north  of  Main  Street  near 
the  central  part  of  the  town  in  the  year  1883. 
It  cost  about  S'2,500,  and  at  the  present  time 
is  occupied  by  the  large  general  store  of 
Zachariah  Wirt.  The  village  at  the  present 
time  has  a  population  of  about  three  hundred 
and  twenty,  and  supports  the  following  busi- 
ess:  three  large  general   stores,  three  grocery 


stores,  one  furniture  store,  one  millinery  store, 
two  drug  stores,  two  blacksmith  shops,  two 
carpenter  shops,  three  grain  houses,  one  under- 
taking establishment,  two  butcher  shops,  one 
shoe  shop,  two  harness  shops  and  one  barber 
shop.  There  are  two  hotels  in  the  town,  the 
Oblong  and  Cottage  Houses,  kept  respectively 
by  William  J.  OJell  and  William  Runkle. 
The  locality  is  said  to  be  a  very  healthy  one, 
yet  despite  this  fact  the  following  medical 
gentlemen  reside  in  the  village  and  practice 
their  profession  in  the  town  and  surrounding 
country:  T.  J.  Edwards,  H.  C.  Kibby,  M.  E. 
Ratferty  and  W.  R.  Dale.  The  Oblong  post- 
office  was  established  in  the  year  1851  and 
D.  W.  Odell  appointed  postmaster.  The 
present  postmaster  is  D.  C.  Condrej'. 

The  Oblong  City  Lodge  No.  644  A.,  F.  & 
A.  M.  was  organized  October,  1870.  The 
charter  was  granted  by  Grand  Master  H.  G. 
Reynolds  and  contains  the  following  names: 
D.  Z.  Condrey,  J.  D.  Smith,  William  Wood, 
Manuel  Beaver,  Benjamin  F.  Buff,  John  J. 
Burton,  Henry  M.  Barlow,  M.  Cawood,  Thom- 
as J.  N.  Dees,  Joseph  C.  Hughes,  William 
Larabee,  Hiram  Larabee,  James  McKnight, 
James  G.  McKnight,  George  McCriUis,  Hiram 
McCrillis  and  George  Routt.  The  first  offi- 
cers were  D.  Z.  Condrey,  W.  M.;  John  U. 
Smith,  S.  W.,  and  William  Wood,  J.  W.  The 
officers  in  charge  at  present  are  T.  J.  Ed- 
wards, W.  M.;  Clinton  Cawood,  S.  W.;  M.  E. 
Rafferty,  J.  W.;  R.  H.  xMcKnight,  Trcas.; 
Zachariah  Wirt,  Sect.;  L.  R.  Bowman,  S.  D.; 
C.  D.  Condrey,  J.  D.;  J.  R.  McKnight,  Tiler; 
M.  L.  James,  Chaplain.;  Marion  Blake,  S.  S.; 
and  B.  F.  Byerly,  J.  S.  Meetings  -were  held 
in  hall  over  Muchmore  &  McKnight's  store 
until  the  year  1875,  when  the  place  of  meeting 
was  changed  to  Wirt  &  Wood's  hall  which 
had  been  fitted  up  for  the  purpose.  In  1878 
the  lodge  was  moved  back  to  the  hall  first 
used  which  has  been  the   meeting  place    ever 


180 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


since.  At  the  present  time  tlie  lodge  is  in  a 
flourishing  condition  and  numbers  thirty-five 
members. 

The  Gospel  was  introduced  into  this  town- 
ship by  the  pioneers  themselves,  and  long  be- 
fore churches  were  built  religious  services 
were  held  in  their  cabins,  and  when  the 
weather  permitted,  in  groves.  When  no  min- 
ister was  present  at  these  meetnigs,  some  one 
accustomed  to  "praying  in  public"  would 
read  a  chapter  in  the  holy  book,  offer  a  prayer 
to  the  Most  High,  after  which  the  exercises 
were  of  a  more  general  nature,  consisting  of 
singing,  praying  and  "  telling  experiences," 
in  which  all  who  felt  religiously  inclined  were 
at  liberty  to  participate.  As  their  numbers 
and  wealth  increased  societies  were  organized, 
church  buildings  erected  in  different  sections 
of  the  country,  and  ministers  employed. 
Just  when  or  where  the  first  church  edifice 
was  erected  in  Oblong  is  not  known,  unless 
it  was  the  old  Mount  Comfort  church,  which 
stood  near  the  southern  boundary  of  the 
township.  A  society  of  the  Methodist  church 
was  organized  in  that  vicinity  a  number  of 
years  ago,  with  a  large  membership.  Meet- 
ings were  held  at  private  residences  and 
school-houses  until  about  the  year  1860,  when 
steps  were  taken  to  erect  a  house  of  worship. 
Ralph  Johnson  donated  ground  for  the  pur- 
pose, and  citizens  of  the  neighborhood  took 
an  active  pari  by  contributing  both  work  and 
money  toward  the  enterprise.  The  building 
"was  a  hewed  log  structure,  very  comfortably 
finished,  and  was  used  as  a  meeting  place 
about  twenty  years.  The  society,  at  one  time 
in  such  flourishing  condition,  gradually  di- 
minished in  numbers,  until  it  was  found  im- 
possible to  maintain  an  organization.  The 
class  was  finally  disbanded  and  the  building 
allowed  to  fall  into  decay.  Among  the  early 
pastors  of  this  church  were   William  St.  Clair, 

C.  C.  English, Noll,    John    Leeper,  J. 

P.    Rutherford,  and   Wallace.      The 


Oblong  class  was  organized  in  the  year  1850 
at  the  house  of  Owen  Jarrett,  with  the  follow- 
ing members:  Isaac  Dulanev  and  wife,  Owen 
Jarrett  and  wife,  and  Lj^dia  Leech.  The 
first  accessions  after  the  organization  were 
David  Caudman  and  wife,  who  joined  the 
society  at  the  second  meeting.  The  organi- 
zation was  effected  by  the  labors  of  Rev. 
William  St.  Clair,  at  that  time  on  the  Rob- 
inson circuit,  who  preached  for  the  congrega- 
tion two  years.  He  was  succeeded  by  John 
Leeper  who  had  charge  of  the  circuit  one 
year.  Then  came  in  regular  succession  John 
Taylor,  Noll,  Williamson,  Woolard,  Butler, 
Bonner,  Hennessee  and  English.  The  pres- 
ent pastor  is  Rev.  S.  A.  Seeds,  who  is  assist- 
ed by  John  CuUora.  The  residences  of  Owen 
Jarrett  and  David  Caudman  were  used  as 
places  of  worship  until  the  Oblong  school- 
house  was  built,  when  the  organization  was 
transferred  to  the  village.  Services  were 
held  in  the  school- house  about  ten  vears, 
when  the  Baptists  erected  their  house  of  wor- 
ship which  has  served  as  a  meeting  place  for 
both  denominations  ever  since.  The  society 
was  attached  to  the  Oblong  circuit  alj^ut  ten 
years  ago,  and  at  the  present  time  has  upon 
its  records  the  names  of  forty  members. 

The  Prairie  Methodist  Church  is  located  in 
the  northern  part  of  the  township,  and  dates 
its  history  from  the  year  1857,  at  which  time 
their  first  house  of  worship  was  erected.  It 
was  a  neat  frame  building,  about  forty  by 
fifty  feet,  and  cost  the  sum  81,500.  The 
society  was  organized  by  Rev.  John  Leeper, 
a  master  of  the  Gospel,  well  known  in  Craw- 
ford County,  and  a  man  of  considerable  abil- 
ity and  untiring  industry.  Under  his  labors, 
about  si.xty  members  were  gathered  into  the 
church  shortly  after  the  organization,  but  as 
the  original  records  could  not  be  obtained  none 
of  their  names  were  learned.  Their  building 
was  used  as  a  place  of  worship  until  the  year 
1879,  when  it  was  abandoned.     At  that  time 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


181 


the  memborship  was  scattered  over  such  an 
extent  of  country  tliiit  it  was  found  expedi- 
ent to  divide  the  society  into  two  distinct  or- 
ganizations, which  was  done  the  same  year 
by  mutual  consent  of  all  parties  interested. 
The  members  living  in  the  vicinity  of  the  old 
church  met  for  worship  at  the  prairie  school- 
house,  while  those  living  west  formed  them- 
selves into  what  is  known  as  the  Dogwood 
class,  and  held  religious  services  in  a  school- 
house  of  the  same  name.  In  the  year  1881 
the  two  societies  divided  the  old  church  prop- 
erty, and  erected  houses  of  worship,  which 
arc  known  as  the  Dogwood  and  Prairie 
churches.  They  are  both  fine  frame  build- 
ings 38x42  feet,  and  cost  about  $1,100  each. 
The  Prairie  church  numbers  fifty-six  com- 
municants at  the  present  time,  while  the 
records  of  the  Dogwood  chapel  contain  the 
names  of  sixty-seven  members  in  good  stand- 
ing. Both  churches  maintain  good  Sunday 
schools,  which  are  well  attended.  The  fol- 
lowing pastors  have  preached  for  the  churches 
since  the  reorganization  in  1879:  Revs. 
Leeper,  Taylor,  Hardakor,  Sapington,  St. 
Clair,  ^^^ool'ii'd,  English,  Glatz,  Lopas, 
Grant,' Carson,  Waller,  Reeder,  Rutherford, 
Harrington,  King,  Bartley,  Stanfer,  Dee, 
Jackson,  Seeds  and  Cullom.  The  last  two  be- 
ing pastors  in  charge  at  the  present  time. 
The  Wirt  Chapel  Christian  Church  was  or- 
ganized by  Elder  G.  W.  Ingersoll,  at  the 
Wirt  school-house  in  the  year  1862.  The 
school-house  served  the  congregation  for  a 
meeting  place  until  1875,  when  their  present 
temple  of  worship  was  erected.  Their  build- 
ing is  frame,  30x36  feet,  cost  $900,  and 
stands  in  the  western  part  of  the  township, 
two  and  three-quarter  miles  southwest  of  Ob- 
long, on  land  donated  by  Mrs.  Deborah  Og- 
den.  Elder  Ingersoll  had  pastoral  charge  of 
the  church  until  the  year  1873,  at  which  time 
he  resigned.  The  second  pastor  was  Elder 
Daniel  Conner,   the    exact    length    of  whose 


pastorate  was  not  ascertained.     Elder  Daniel 
Gray  succeeded  Conner,  and   preached  very 
acceptably  for  a  couple  of  years.     The  pres- 
ent membership  is  about  thirty-six,  it   having 
started  with  ten.     A  good    Sunday  school  is 
maintained    in    connection   with    the  church, 
which  at  the  present   time  is  under   the    effi- 
cient   management  of   Jacob   AVirt,  superin- 
tendent.     Among  the  early  preachers  of  the 
township    were    Daniel  Doly,  Richard  New- 
port,  Daniel    Parker    and    Thomas    Canady, 
Baptist  ministers,  who  held   services   at    Ob- 
long Village  at  intervals  for  a  number  of  years. 
A  few  members  of  that  denomination  resided 
in  the    village   and    vicinity,    and    organized 
themselves  into  a  society   November  2,  1872 
The  organization  was   brought    about  princi- 
pally by  the  efforts  of  William  H.  Smith  and 
D.  W.  Odell,  and  the  following  names  record- 
ed   as    constitutional    members:      John    B. 
Smith,   Nancy    Smith,   Eliza   Ellis,    Blanche 
Gill,  Samuel  R.  Mock,  Amelia   Mock,    Chris- 
tina EofF,   Margaret  Eaton,  D.  W.  Odell  and 
Margaret  Odell.     William  H.  Smith  has  been 
pastor    of  the  church    since  its   organization. 
There  are  eighteen  members  belonging  at  the 
present  time.     The   house   of  worship    where 
the  society  meets,   was   erected   a  short    time 
prior  to  the  organization,  on  ground  donated 
b}'  D.  W.  Odell.     It  is  a  neat  frame  structure, 
stands  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  village,  and 
represents  a  value  of  about  $600.     The  pres- 
ent trustees  are  John    B.  Smith,  D.  W.  Odell 
and    Samuel     R.   Mock.      The    Universalist 
Church  of  Olilong  was  organized  in  the  spring 
of  1873,  by  Rev.  Harris,  with    a   membership 
of  about    twenty  persons.     Eft'orts    were  im- 
mediately put    on    foot  to   erect  a  house  of 
worship,    and    a    building    committee,    con- 
sisting of   D.  Z.  Condrey,    E.  Ubank,  T.  J. 
Price,  J.  H.  Watts  and  John  King  appointed. 
This  committee  purchased  ground  of  William 
Wurtzburger  in   the  western    part  of  the  vil- 
lage, and  work  at  once  began  on  the  building. 


182 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


The  house,  which  is  a  frame  erlifice  26x30 
feet,  >\-as  completed  in  the  summer  of  1873, 
at  a  cost  of  $700.  Rev.  Harris,  the  first  pas- 
tor, preached  two  years  and  was  succeeded 
by  Rev.  C.  C.  NefF,  who  remained  with  the 
church  three  years.  Then  came  Rev.  M.  L. 
Pope,  who  ministered  to  the  congregation 
about  two  years,  and  was  in  turn  followed  by 
Rev.  S.  S.  Gibb,  the  present  pastor.  The 
present  membership  is  about  forty. 

In  educational  matters  the  citizens  of  this 
township  have  always  taken  a  lively  interest, 
and  schools  were  established  shortly  after  the 
first  settlers  made  their  appearance.  The  first 
school-house,  as  near  as  could  be  ascertained, 
stood  on  the  west  side  of  Oblong  Prairie  near 
the  North  Fork,  and  was  built  some  time 
prior  to  1836.  Among  the  first  teachers  who 
wielded  the  birch  in  this  rude  domicile 
was  one  James  Smith;  the  names  of  other 
early  teachers  who  dignified  this  frontier 
college  with  their  presence  have  unfor- 
tunately been  forgotten.  The  second  school- 
house  was  a  hewed  log  building  and  a  decided 
improvement  on  the  one  described.  It  was 
erected  about  the  year  1837  and  stood  near 
the  Oblong  grave-yard.  It  was  first  used  by 
a  man  by  name  of  Fithian  who  taught  a  three 
months'  term  in  the  winter  of  1837  and  1838 
with  an  attendance  of  about  fifteen  pupils. 
Among  the  early  teachers  who  taught  in  the 
same  place  are  remembered  Samuel  Crump- 
ton,  John  M.  Johnston,  Levi  James,  J.  H. 
Price,  and  Peter  Long.  The  house  was  in 
use  until  the  year  1863  when  it  was  aban- 
doned as  being  no  longer  fit  for  school  pur- 
poses. The  first  frame  school-house  stood  on 
Jesse  Barlow's  farm  in  the  northeast  corner 
of  the  township  and  was  erected  about  the 
year  1850.  It  was  in  use  for  twenty-six 
years.  The  school  lands  were  sold  in  the  year 
1851  and  realized  to  the  township  the  sum  of 
81,100.  Seven  per  cent  of  this  amount  to- 
gether with  $70  which  the  township  drew  the 


same  year  formed  the  basis  of  the  present 
splendid  school  fund.  There  are  at  the  pres- 
ent time  ten  good  buildings  in  which  schools 
are  taught  about  seven  months  in  the  year, 
thus  bringing  the  advantages  of  a  good  edu- 
cation within  the  easy  reach  of  all.  Nine  of 
these  buildings  are  frame,  and  one,  the  Ob- 
long school-house,  is  brick.  The  latter  was 
erected  in  1881  at  a  cost  of  83,000.  It  is  two 
stories  high,  contains  three  large,  well  fur- 
nished rooms,  and  covers  a  space  of  ground 
forty-three  feet  long  by  twenty  feet  wide. 
The  Mount  Comfort  Grange  No.  lOOG  P.  of 
H.  was  organized  in  1873  with  a  membership 
of  thirteen.  First  officers  were  Harrison 
Seers,  Master;  D.  M.  Bales,  Overseer;  and  A. 
Walters,  Sect.  The  present  officers  are  Will- 
iam Cortourly,  M.;  Edward  Johnson,  C; 
Joseph  Kirk,  S.;  Albert  Skaggs,  Sect.;  Wm. 
Johnson,  Treas.;  Chas.  Johnson,  Chap.;  Thom- 
as Keifer,  Lecturer;  J.  E.  Skaggs,  Gate 
Keeper;  Anna  Cortourly,  P.;  Lucinda  John- 
son, A.  S.;  Rachel  Kirk,  F.;  Catherine 
Keifer,  C. 

Dog  Wood  Grange  No.  1007  was  organized 
January  29,  1874,  at  the  Dog  Wood  school- 
house  with  thirty  charter  members.  First  offi- 
cers were  the  following:  Preston  Condrey,  M.; 
Matthew  Wilkin,  O.;  Scott  Thornburg,  L.; 
William  E.  McKnight,  S.;  Absalom  Wilkin, 
A.  S.;  J.  H.  Wilkin,  Chaplain;  Hiram  Lara- 
bee,  Treas.;  R.  S.  Comley,  Sect.;  Wilson 
Brooks,  G.  K.;  Emily  Wilkin,  Ceres;  Eliza- 
beth Condrey,  Pomona;  Carrie  Snider,  Flora; 
Rosilla  Larabee,  L.  A.  S.  The  present  offi- 
cers are  A.  Reed,  M.;  C.  Stifle,  O.;  R.  S. 
Comley,  L.;  S.  Wilkin,  S.;  J.  A.  Wilson,  A. 
S.;  G.  W.  Crogan,  Chap.;  A.  Weir,  Treas.; 
M.  Wilkin,  Sect.;  J.  J.  Waterworth.  G.  K.; 
Mrs.  E.  E.  Wilkin,  Pomona;  Miss  E.  Reed, 
Flora;  Mrs.  Mary  Wilkin,  Ceres;  Mrs.  C. 
Wilson,  L.  A.  S.  The  lodge  is  in  flourishing 
condition  at  the  present  time,  and  numbers 
forty-two  members. 


CHAPTEE    XYI. 


MONTGOMERY  TOWNSHIP— PHYSICAL  FEATURES.  BOUNDARIES,    ETC.— EARLY    SETTLERS 

AND  AVHERE  THEY  CAME  PROM— THE  HURRICANE— FRONTIER  INDUSTRIES— 

A  RACE  FOR  THE  BOTTLE  AND  ITS  RESULTS— THE  POISONING  OF 

REED— VILLAGES-RELIGIOUS   AND    EDUCATIONAL. 


"  What  is  the  tale  that  I  would  tell  ?    Not  one 
Of  strange  adventure,  but  a  common  tale." 

PIONEER  hardships  and  privations  on  the 
frontier  are  a  "  common  tale "  to  the 
writer  of  western  annals.  Those  who  have 
beard  the  old  settlers  tell  of  their  hunting 
frolics,log-rollino;s,  house-raisings, wolf-chases, 
etc.,  etc.,  were  sometimes  led  to  believe  that 
pioneer  life  was  made  up  of  fun  and  frolic, 
amusement  and  enjoyment,  but  it  is  a  woeful 
mistake.  AVhile  there  was  more  or  less  of 
pleasure  and  happiness  among  the  frontiers- 
men, with  their  rude,  wild  life,  "  wild  ab  the 
wild  bird  and  untaught,  with  spur  and  bridle 
undeliled,"  there  was  much  more  danger,  toil, 
privation,  self-denial,  a  lack  of  all  the  com- 
forts of  life,  and  many  of  its  necessaries. 
Indeed,  these  were  the  main  constituents  that 
compose  the  grandeur  of  frontier  life  and 
rast  a  glamour  over  its  dangers  and  hardships. 
To  the  early  settlers  of  this  division  of  the 
county  we  will  now  devote  our  attention,  and 
transcribe  some  of  their  deeds  and  adven- 
tures. 

Montgomery  Township  is  the  southeastern 
division  of  Crawford  County,  and  borders  on 
the  Wabash  River.  It  is  an  excellent  agri- 
cultural region  and  contains  some  very  fine 
farms.  Like  all  the  Wabash  bottoms,  the 
lowlands  along  the  river  are  frequently  in- 
undated, sometimes  subjecting  the  people  to 

*  By  W.  H.  Perrm. 


serious  loss  of  property.  The  center  line  of 
the  township  forms  the  divide,  from  which 
the  water  flows  both  ways — to  the  east  into 
the  Wabash  River  by  Doe  Run  and  Buck's 
Creek,  and  to  the  west  into  the  Embarras  by 
Brushy  Fork  which  runs  in  a  south-southwest 
direction.  The  east  part  of  the  township,  a 
distance  of  two  miles  from  the  river,  was 
known  as  the  "Rich  Woods,"  and  was  very 
rich,  heavy-timbered  Ian  1,  and  is  yet  as  rich 
land  as  there  is  in  the  county.  But  the 
largest  portion  of  Montgomery  was  called 
"  Barrens,"  on  account  of  its  barren  appear- 
ance, being  almost  entirely  destitute  of 
timber,  except  a  few  scattering,  scrubby  oaks 
and  shelbark  hickories.  The  barrens  were 
caused  by  the  great  fires  which  annually 
swept  over  the  prairie  districts.  After  the 
prairie  grass  burned,  the  fire  died  out,  the 
barrens  disappeared  and  the  heavy  timber  be- 
gan. It  was  usually  black,  red,  water,  white 
and  burr  oaks,  hickory,  sassafras,  persimmon, 
with  soft  wood  trees  along  the  streams.  The 
Rich  Woods  produced  several  kinds  of  oak, 
walnut,  beech,  sugar  tree,  elm,  poplar,  linn, 
hackberry,  sycamore,  honey  locust,  cofl'eenut, 
pawpaw,  etc.  Only  the  northwest  corner  of 
the  township  was  prairie,  and  was  called 
Beckwith  Prairie,  and  was  but  a  few  hundred 
acres  in  extent.  Montgomery  Township  lies 
south  of  Lamotte  Township,  west  of  the 
Wabash  River,  north  of  Lawrence  County, 
east  of  Honey  Creek  Township,  and  by  the 


184 


HISTORY  OF  CRAAVFOED  COUXTY. 


census  of  1880  had  a  total  population  of  1,959 
inhabitants. 

The  fii'st  settlement  of  Montgomery  Town- 
shij:)  was  made  seventy  years  or  more  ago. 
There  is  a  prevailing  tradition  that  James 
Beard  settled  here  as  early  as  1810,  hut  it  is 
hardly  probable  that  it  was  much  before  the 
cfose  of  the  war  of  1812.  Beard  was  from 
Kentucky,  and  had  been  brought  up  among 
the  stirring  scenes  of  the  dark  and  bloody 
ground  in  the  days  of  Indian  warfare.  He 
had  a  nephew  named  Eli  Adams,  who  came 
to  this  county  with  him  and  lived  with  him 
here.  Their  cabin  stood  in  the  southeast  cor- 
ner of  the  township.  Beard  was  killed  by 
the  Indians,  as  detailed  in  a  preceding 
chapter.  But  it  is  not  known  what  ever  be- 
came of  Adams. 

Thomas  Kennedy,  who  figures  prominently 
in  this  work,  both  as  an  early  county  officer 
and  as  a  pioneer  Baptist  preacher  was  an  early 
settler  in  this  township.  He  was  from  southern 
Kentucky,  and  first  squatted  on  the  place 
where  John  S.  Woodworth  originally  settled, 
the  improvement  of  which  he  sold  to  Wood- 
worth.  He  then  settled  ia  this  township,  on 
what  is  known  as  the  Gov.  French  farm,  and 
at  present  owned  by  Mr.  Fife.  Kennedy 
lost  several  members  of  his  family  by  the 
milk-sick,  and  sold  out  and  moved  to  Beck- 
■with  Prairie,  where  he  died  at  a  green  old 
age.  He  was  a  good,  honest  man,  somewhat 
illiterate,  l)ut  endowed  with  sound  common 
sense.  As  stated,  he  was  a  Hardshell  Bap- 
tist preacher,  but  much  more  liberal  in  his 
religious  convictions  than  many  of  that  stern 
and  zealous  creed.  He  used  to  often  cross 
swords  with  Daniel  Parker  upon  church  gov- 
ernment and  relations,  and  the  church  once 
tried  to  turn  him  out  for  what  it  termed  his 
heresies,  but  failed  in  the  attempt.  Old 
"  Daddy  "  Kenned}'  was  a  man  who  possessed 
the  confidence  of  the  people  among  whom  he 
lived,  and  enjoyed  a  reputation  for  honor  and 


integrity,  that    remained  unstained  during  a 
long  and  active  life. 

Another  early  settler  was  John  Cobb.  He 
came  to  Montgomery  Township  in  1820  and 
opened  a  farm.  He  had  six  children,  some  of 
whom  grew  up  and  made  prominent  men. 
One  of  these,  Amasa  Cobb,  studied  law  in  St. 
Louis,  and  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  Mexican 
war,  entered  the  army,  taking  part  in  that  un- 
pleasantness. He  afterward  located  in  Wis- 
consin ;  was  sent  to  the  Legislature  and  to  Con- 
gress from  the  Badger  State,  and  was  in  Con- 
gress when  the  war  clouds  rose  on  the  south- 
ern horizon  in  18G1.  He  at  once  offered  his 
services  to  the  government,  was  commis- 
sioned colonel  of  a  regiment,  and  distinguished 
himself  in  the  field.  At  this  time,  he  is  serv- 
ing his  second  term  as  judge  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Nebraska.  Another  son  is  living  in 
this  township,  and  is  a  prominent  farmer. 

The  following  incident  is  intimately  con- 
nected with  the  early  settlement  of  this  sec- 
tion. About  the  year  1811-12,  a  hurricane 
swept  over  the  country,  passing  from  the 
southwest  to  the  northeast,  through  the  north- 
western part  of  Montgomery  and  the  south- 
eastern part  of  Lamotte  Township.  Marks 
of  its  destructive  course  may  yet  be  seen  in 
many  places.  It  was  about  half  a  mile  in 
width,  and  the  timber  was  felled  before  it,  as 
grain  before  the  reaper.  A  family  named 
Higgins  had  just  moved  in,  and  had  not  vet 
had  time  to  build  a  cabin  and  had  constructed 
a  rude  hut  to  shelter  their  heads  until  better 
accommodations  could  be  provided.  The  hut 
stood  directly  in  the  path  of  the  hurricane, 
and  after  the  storm  was  over  the  people  gath- 
ered together,  and  knowing  the  location  of 
Higgins'  hut,  supposed  the  family  all  killed, 
and  that  nothing  remained  to  them,  but  to 
make  their  way  into  the  fallen  timber,  get  out 
the  unfortunates  and  bury  them.  Upon  work- 
ing their  way  to  them,  they  were  found  to  be 
wholly   uninjured,  not  a  single   tree  having 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


1S5 


fallen  upon  the  hut,  or  touched  it,  but  the 
huge  monarchs  of  the  forest  were  piled  pro- 
miscuously all  around  them,  rendering  their 
escape  as  remarkable  as  that  of  Tam  O'Shan- 
ter's  Mare.  It  was  the  only  spot  in  the  whole 
track  of  the  hurricane  for  miles  that  was  not 
covered  over  with  fallen  timber.  The  inci- 
dent is  still  remembered  by  many  who  have 
received  it  as  a  family  tradition. 

Among  the  settlers  of  Montgomery,  addi- 
tional to  those  already  mentioned  were,  Joseph 
Pearson,  Ithra  Brasliears,  James  Shaw,  John 
^Yaldrop,  Gabriel  Funk,  Sr.,  Andrew  Mont- 
gomery and  others  whose  names  are  now  for- 
gotten. Pearson  came  from  Indiana,  and  set- 
led  here,  bat  not  much  was  learned  of  him. 
Brashears  was  in  Fort  Lamotte,  and  when 
peace  was  established  received  from  the 
Government  100  acres  of  land  for  some  ser- 
vice against  the  Indians,  but  just  what  the 
service  was  is  not  remembered.  He  was  from 
Kentucky,  and  like  all  those  old  pioneers  from 
that  region,  W'asa  trained  Indian  fighter.  He 
had  one  of  the  early  mills  of  the  county.  His 
children  are  all  dead  except  one  daughter. 
James  Shaw  settled  what  is  now  known  as  the 
Winn  place.  He  has  descendants  still  living. 
John  V/aldrop  was  from  Kentucky,  and  set- 
tled very  early.  Gabriel  Funk,  Sr.,  came  here 
in  1815,  and  was  a  great  hunter.  He  had  a 
son  named  Gabriel,  who  followed  in  his  fath- 
er's footsteps  in  regard  to  hunting.  Andrew 
Montgomery  came  from  Irelatid  and  settled 
here  very  early.  He  raised  a  large  family  of 
children.  Mr.  Montgomery  was  a  prominent 
man,  and  the  township  bears  his  name,  an 
honor  that  is  not  unmerited.  Many  others 
might  be  named  in  connection  with  the  early 
settlement,  but  after  this  long  lapse  of  time, 
their  names  are  forgotten.  Others  will  be 
mentioned  in  the  biographical  department  of 
this  work. 

For  many  j'ears  after  the  whites  came  here, 
tli'.'y    had    hard   work  to    live.     Even    up    to 


1815-50,  times  were  hard  and  produce  low, 
commanding  the  most  insignificant  prices. 
Particularly  from  1810  to  1815  were  farm  pro- 
ducts low.  Corn  sold  at  6;^  cents  per  bushel, 
after  being  hauled  to  the  stage-stand  at  Ver- 
non in  the  north  part  of  the  township.  AVheat 
■was  37i  to  40  cents  per  bushel  in  trade  for 
salt,  after  being  hauled  to  Evansville,  Ind. 
Pork,  from  §1.50  to  $'i.00  per  hundred  pounds; 
cattle,  three  and  four  years  old  sold  for  §6  and 
S7  a  piece.  Clothing  was  coarse  and  cheap. 
Many  wore  buckskin,  and  all  wore  home-made 
clothes.  A  family  who  came  here  from  Vir- 
ginia made  clothing  of  cotton  and  the  fur  of 
rabbits  mixed,  the  latter  being  sheared  from 
the  backs  of  the  rabbits  like  wool  from  sheep. 
This  is  a  pioneer  story,  and  like  many  of  their 
stories,  is  somewhat  huge  in  proportion,  when 
we  consider  how  many  rabbits  it  would  take 
to  furnish  wool  enough  to  clothe  an  army. 
But  it  is  told  that  Mr.  James  Laiidreth  wore 
clothing  composed  of  the  material  above  de- 
scribed. 

Mills  were  among  the  early  pioneer  indus- 
tries of  Montgomery.  James  Allison  had  a 
mill  very  early  in  the  south  part  of  the  town- 
ship. Jesse  Higgins  built  an  early  mill  where 
Morea  now  stands.  Ithra  Brashears  also  built 
a  mill  in  an  early  day,  and  James  Brockman 
had  a  mill  near  the  Wabash  river,  in  the 
southeast  part  of  the  township.  He  was  killed 
by  his  step-son.  Bill  Shaw. 

Distilleries  were  also  a  prominent  industry 
among  the  pioneers.  Veach  had  a  distillery 
a  half  mile  east  of  Flat  Rock,  while  Shaw 
owned  one  in  the  east  part  of  the  township. 
Adams  had  one  of  the  first  in  the  country 
Another  distillery  was  built  in  the  southeast 
portion  of  the  tox'wi,  and  afterward  a  tannery 
established  at  the  same  place.  Hatfield  was 
the  first  blacksmith,  and  Wm.  Edgington  was 
a  pioneer  blacksmith  and  run  a  sort  of  gun 
factory  in  the  township  for  sixty  years. 

Jioads. — The   Vincennes  State  road  was  one 


186 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


of  the  first  public  higlivvixys  through  Mont- 
gomery. It  was  surveyed  in  1835.  It  was 
usually  called  the  State  Road,  but  its  proper 
name  was  Vincenncs  and  Chicago  road.  The 
"  Purgatory  Road  "  as  it  was  called,  was  laid 
out  in  183G.  It  was  so  called  on  account  of 
a  large  swamp  through  which  it  passed.  It 
run  from  Viiicennes  to  Palestine,  and  is  the 
real  State  road.  While  the  Vincennes  road, 
is  merely  an  improved  Indian  trail,  probably 
several  hundred  years  old.  The  township  is 
supplied  with  roads  of  as  good  quality  as  any 
portion  of  the  county,  and  in  many  places 
good  bridges  span  the  streams. 

An  incident  occurred  in  this  township  some 
years  ago,  which  shocked  the  moral  sensibility 
of  all  the  better  class  of  people.  Leonard 
Reed  was  a  well-to-do  citizen,  and  a  man  who 
stood  fair  among  his  neighbors.  He  lived  five 
miles  southeast  of  Palestine,  and  was  poisoned 
by  his  wife  that  she  might  secure  his  property 
all  to  herself.  She  dosed  him  with  arsenic, 
putting  it  in  his  victuals  in  small  quantities, 
with  the  design  of  killing  him  by  inches  and 
thus  escaping  suspicion.  The  drug  gave  out 
and  she  was  compelled  to  procure  a  second 
supply.  One  morning  the  hired  girl  saw  her 
put  something  in  her  husband's  coffee  from  a 
paper,  and  his  violent  pains  a  few  moments 
afterward  aroused  the  girl's  suspicions.  It 
seems  the  woman  had  given  her  husband  a 
larger  dose  than  usual,  infuriated  perhaps  at 
his  tenacious  hold  on  life,  and  from  the  effects 
of  it  he  died.  The  hired  girl  then  told  some 
of  the  neighbors  what  she  had  herself  seen, 
and  a  medical  examination  was  the  result, 
which  revealed  the  presence  of  arsenic  in  the 
stomach.  The  woman  was  arrested  and 
lodged  in  the  jail  at  Palestine.  Before  her 
trial  came  on  she  attempted  to  escape  by 
burning  a  hole  in  the  jail  wall,  which  was  of 
wood.  She  would  burn  a  little  at  a  time,  and 
then  extinguish  the  fire  in  order  not  to  excite 
suspicion.     One  night  she  let  the  fire  get  the 


mastery  of  her,  and  when  seeing  that  both 
she  and  the  jail  must  burn  together,  she 
screamed  for  help.  Sam  Garrard,  still  a  citi- 
zen of  Palestine,  was  the  first  to  reach  the 
scene  and  succeeded  in  rescuing  her  from  the 
flames.  She  was  afterward  transferred  to 
Lawrence  countv  on  a  change  of  venue,  tried 
for  the  murder  of  her  husband,  condemned, 
and  finally  hunsf  in  Lawrenceville. 

Another  tragedy  occurred  in  this  township, 
which,  though  accidental,  was  none  the  less 
deplorable,  inasmuch  as  it  resulted  from  a 
barbarous  custom.  A  young  man  named 
Green  Baker,  who  lived  in  the  southeast  part 
of  Montgomery,  in  "  racing  for  the  bottle  "  at 
a  wedding  was  thrown  against  a  tree  and  in- 
stantly killed.  It  was  a  custom  in  those  ear- 
ly times  at  a  wedding  for  two  or  three  young 
men  to  be  selected  to  go  to  the  house  of  the 
bride  for  the  usual  bottle  of  spirits  that  graced 
the  occasion.  At  the  proper  time  they  started 
on  horseback  at  break-neck  speed,  as  one 
would  ride  a  hurdle-race,  turning  aside  for 
no  object  or  impediment.  The  one  who 
gained  the  race  by  first  reaching  the  bride's 
residence  and  getting  possession  of  the  bottle 
was  the  hero  of  the  day,  a  kind  of  champion 
knight  among  the  fair  ladies.  In  obedience 
to  this  rude  custom  Baker  and  one  or  two 
otheis  started  on  the  race  for  the  bottle. 
Thev  were  running  their  horses  at  full  speed, 
and  at  a  turn  in  the  road  by  which  stood  a 
tree  somewhat  bent.  Baker  swayed  his  body 
to  the  side  he  supposed  the  horse  would  go, 
but  contrary  to  his  expectations  it  went  on 
the  other  side.  His  head  struck  the  tree  and 
death  was  instantaneous.  Thus,  by  observing 
a  rude  and  barbarous  custom,  an  occasion  of 
gavety  was  turned  into  the  deepest  mourning. 

The  people  of  Montgomery  Township  take 
an  active  interest  in  education.  It  is  not 
known  now  who  taught  the  first  school  in  the 
township.  It  is  known,  however,  that  schools 
were    established     as    soon     as    there    were 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


187 


children  enough  in  a  neighborhood  to  support 
a  school.  There  are  now  ten  school-houses 
in  the  township,  hut  the  school  township  ex- 
tends two  miles  into  Lawrence  County.  All 
the  school-houses  are  frame,  and  their  average 
cost  is  about  §850..  The  state  of  education  is 
the  best  in  the  county  aside  from  the  towns. 
Especially  is  this  the  case  in  District  No.  1, 
which  is  noted  for  its  interest  in  education, 
and  in  which  stands  the  McKibben  school- 
house,  one  of  the  best  in  ihe  township. 

Villafies. — There  are  several  villages  in  the 
township,  but  all  of  them  put  together  would 
not  make  a  town  as  large  as  Chicago.  Al- 
though they  are  dignified  by  being  called 
villages  none  of  them  have  been  regularly 
laid  out  as  such.  One  of  the  first  places  to 
be  designated  as  a  village,  was  Vernon.  It  was 
on  the  Vincennes  road  and  was  a  stiige-stand 
when  the  old-fashioned  stage-coach  was  the 
principal  means  of  travel.  A  small  store,  a 
post-office,  a  tavern  and  a  blacksmith  shop 
comprised  its  proportions.  The  tavern  was 
kept  by  Spencer  Hurst,  and  one  Salters  was 
the  blacksmith.  The  town,  however,  has  dis- 
appeared. 

!Morea  is  another  hamlet,  and  consists  of  a 
half  dozen  houses  or  so.  Wm.  P.  Dunlap 
built  the  first  store-house,  but  the  first  goods 
were  sold  by  Wm.  Wallace.  The  place  con- 
tains but  one  store  which  is  kept  by  Henry 
Sayre.  A  post-of5ce  was  established  here, 
with  A.  W.  Duncan  as  postmaster.  It  is  now 
kept  by  Dr.  J.  A.  Ingles.  Tlitse,  with  a  churehj 
school-house  and  blacksmith  shop,  constitute 
the  town.  The  first  move  toward  a  town  was 
the  building  of  the  church,  which  is  a  Pres- 
bj'terian  church.  Alexander  MacHatton  gave 
the  ground  upon  which  it  was  built.  He  also 
gave  one  acre  of  land  to  David  Kelchner,who 
erected  a  house  upon  it. 

The  school-house  was  built  originally  about 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  post-office,  and 
was  a  log  structure.     Later  the  present  school- 


house  was  built,  by  parties,  who  made  a  kind 
of  stock  company  of  it,  taking  shares  of  stock. 
The  upper  portion  is  used  for  religious  and 
literary  purposes.  The  church  will  be  referred 
to  later  on  in  this  chapter. 

Heathville  is  another  of  the  same  sort.  A 
post-office  was  established,  and  R.  Heath,  an 
old  pioneer  now  living  in  Russelville,  was  the 
first  post-master.  The  present  one  is  Mr. 
Sullivan.  A  store,  a  shop  or  two,  and  a  few 
houses  are  all  there  is  of  this  lively  town. 

Crawfordsville  is  situated  on  the  line  be- 
tween Montgomery  and  Honey  Creek  Town- 
ships. The  first  record  we  have  of  the  place, 
was  when  Edward  Allison  built  a  water-mill 
here  about  1830.  Allison  sold  out  to  a  man 
named  Kiger,  who  in  turn  sold  to  H.  Martin, 
a  son  of  John  Martin,  who  came  to  the  county 
in  lSlO-13.  He  built  an  ox-mill  afterward, 
and  later,  a  steam-mill,  which  is  still  stand- 
ing, and  is  owned  by  Dennis  York  and  J.  T. 
Wood.  H.  Martin  kept  a  blacksmith  shop 
about  18.j5.  Elijah  Nuttalls  established  a 
general  store,  and  afterward  several  others 
had  stores  at  different  periods.  During  all 
this  time  it  was  known  as  Martin's  mill,  but 
when  a  post-oilice  was  established  it  was  then 
called  Crawfordsville.  Samson  Taylor  was 
the  first  postmaster.  The  post-office  was  re- 
moved to  Flat  Rock  when  that  town  was  laid 
out  after  the  building  of  the  railroad.  A 
woolen-mill  was  connected  with  the  steam-mill 
about  1870,  and  operated  until  1879,  when  it 
closed  business. 

Churches, — Wesley  Chapel  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church  is  among  the  oldest  churches  in 
the  county',  dating  its  original  organization 
back  at  least  to  1825.  The  Methodists  being 
missionary  in  their  style,  this  church  grew 
out  of  work  done  years  previous  to  organiza- 
tion. Among  the  original  members  were 
James  and  Nancy  McCord,  Edward  N.  and 
Mary  Cullom,  Nancy  Funk,  Smith  Shaw  and 
wife,  John  and  Mary  Fox,  S.    B.   Carter   and 


188 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


Margaret  Carter,  Daniel  and  Christina  Funk, 
William  Garrard  and  wife,  and  Jacob  Gar- 
rard and  wile.  It  was  organized  by  Rev. 
John  Stewart,  one  of  the  earliest  preachers 
of  the  Methodists  in  the  Wabash  valley.  The 
first  church  edifice  was  built  in  1845,  and  was 
a  frame,  2Gx40  feet,  costing  about  $800.  In 
1878  a  larger  and  more  commodious  house 
was  commenced,  and  finished  the  next  year. 
It  is  30x50  feet,  with  many  of  the  modern 
improvements — two  class-rooms,  gallery,  bel- 
fry, stained  glass  windows,  and  will  seat  com- 
fortably some  250  persons.  It  has  at  present 
about  100  members.  Many  of  the  churches 
surrounding  country  grew  out  of  this  vener- 
able churcli,  among  which  was  that  at  Pales- 
tine. 

The  following  is  furnished  us  of  the  dif- 
ferent pastors  of  this  church:  Rupert  Delapp, 
a  good  proacher,  but  rather  too  plain  spoken 
to  be  popular;  Wra.  McReynolds,  a  good 
man  and  polished  gentleman,  and  much  liked 
by  all;  John,  his  brother,  and  very  similar; 
Samuel  Hulls,  a  good  man  liut  common 
preacher,  one  of  those  who  wept  when  he 
preached,  very  excitable  but  popular  and 
influential,  held  many  responsible  positions 
in  the  church,  and  is  still  living;  John  Miller 
and  Finley  Tliompson  officiated  tog-ether,  and 
were  both  good  men;  John  McCain,  a  de- 
voted and  influential  preacher,  Israel  Risley 
rather  dry,  but  a  man  of  good  sense;  Chai4es 
Bonner,  a  warm-hearted  young  man,  and  a 
preacher  of  medium  talents;  James  M.  Mas- 
sey,  one  of  the  best  preachers  the  church 
ever  had,  and  faithful  to  the  end;  a  son,  T. 
J.  Massey,  is  now  in  charge  of  the  Robinson 
circuit;  Ira  McGinnis,  a  good  preacher;  Wm. 
S.  Crissy,  promising  young  preacher;  John 
Chamberlin,  an  elegant  gentleman,  and  a 
mediocre  preacher;  Asa  McMurtry  and  Wm. 
Wilson  together;  Wm.  Ripley;  Isaac  Barr; 
Jas.  Woodward;  Americus  Don  Carlos;  W. 
(;.  Blondill;  Michael  S.  Taylor;  John  Shep- 


herd; Jacob  Reed;  J.  F.  Jaques;  Joseph 
Hopkins;  W.  H.  H.  Moore;  Z.  Percy;  John 
Hill;  John  Glaze;  Levi  English;  John  John- 
son; James  Holey;  Jacob  Reed  and  V.  Lin- 
genfelter;  D.  Williamson;  Charles  McCord; 
Wm.  Nail;  John  Leeperand  W.J.  Grant;  S. 
P. Groves;  James  Thrapp;  Lewis  Harper;  D. 
Williamson;  Wm.  Cain;  O.  H.  Clark;  O.  H. 
Bruner;  Wni.  Hennessey;  Joseph  Ruther- 
ford; W.  W.  McMorrow;  Wm.  Bruner;  .1. 
J.  Boyer;  Jason  Carson;  John  Weeden  and 
D.  B.  Stewart;  John  Weeden  and  Joseph 
Van  Cleve;  J.  D.  Reeder,  the  present  pastor. 
Under  his  pastorate  forty-four  members  have 
been  added,  "  a  record  that  has  not  been 
beaten,"  since  the  organization  of  the  church. 

A  Sunday-school  in  connection  with  the 
church,  has  been  in  operation  since  1873. 
The  regular  attendance  is  about  seventy-five 
children,  and  Wm.  Fox  is  the  superintendent. 

Canaan  Baptist  Church  is  another  of  the 
old  church  organizations  of  this  section  of 
the  country.  It  was  established  by  Elder 
Daniel  Parker,  a  Hardshell  Baptist  preacher, 
near  Fort  Allison,  away  back  about  1830, 
under  the  name  of  "  Little  Vdlage  Baptist 
Church."  A  few  years  later  it  was  moved  to 
this  township,  and  is  now  of  the  Missionary 
Baptist  faith.  They  have  some  eighteen 
members,  and  hold  their  meetings  in  the 
Canaan  school-house,  in  which  they  own  an 
interest. 

Liberty  Baptist  Church  was  organized  July 
15,  lSi3.  The  old  Lamotte  Baptist  Church, 
great  in  numbers  and  in  boundaries,  con- 
tributed toward  its  formation.  The  mem- 
bers in  the  southeast  part  of  the  congrega- 
tion, thought  it  best  to  form  a  church  nearer 
their  homes.  Among  those  wlio  entertained 
this  belief  were  D.  Y.  Allison,  Sarah  Allison, 
Benjamin  Long,  Jane  Long,  Isaac  Martin, 
Mary  Martin,  Thos.  F.  Highsmith,  Elizabeth 
Highsmlth,  Wm.  V.  Highsmith,  Sina  Allen, 
Rebecca    Rush    and     Amos    Rich.      Elders 


Drudut  CoX- 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


191 


Stephen  Kennedy  and  Wm.  S.  Bishop  offi- 
ciated at  the  organization.  Since  then  tlie 
pastors  have  been:  Elders  Hezeklah  Shelton 
and  A.  J.  Fuson,  by  direction  of  the  New 
York  Home  Mission  Board;  Solomon  D.  Mon- 
roe, D.  Y.  Allison,  J.  T.  Warren,  T.  J.  Neal, 
and  J.  L.  Cox,  the  present  pastor.  The  first 
church  was  built  of  logs  eighteen  by  twenty 
feet,  and  a  few  years  afterward  another  room 
of  the  same  size  was  added,  at  a  total  cost, 
perhaps,  of  $200.  The  second  church  was 
built  in  1S7A,  and  cost  about  $1,200.  It  has 
sixty-three  members,  and  a  Sunday-school, 
which  was  organized  in  1865,  by  Jacob 
Clements  and  Hachel  E.  Dickinson.  Clem- 
ents was  superintendent. 

This  church  had  but  little  ministerial  aid 
in  the  early  days  of  its  existence;  ministers 
being  scarce  and  hard  to  procure  in  a  new 
country  such  as  this  was  then.  But  its  mem- 
bers persevered,  and  it  increased  in  power  and 
usefulness.  Twr>  churches  were  afterward 
organized  chiefly  from  its  membership:  one 
north  of  where  it  is  located,  and  the  other 
southwest,  and  just  north  of  Lawrenceville. 
The  United  Presbyterian  Church  of  Morea, 
as  also  the  Associated  Presbyterian  Church 
and  the  United  Presbyterian  Church  of  Duii- 
canvilie,  had  their  origin  with  a  few  families, 
mostly  from  East  Tennessee,  who  settled  in 
the  Maxwell  neighborhood.  At  their  request 
they  were  organized  into  a  "  vacancy  "  of  the 
Associated  Presbyterian  Church  (commonly 
called  seceders),  under  the  care  of  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Northern  Indiana;  Rev.  James 
Dickson,  of  the  Presbytery,  officiated  at  the 
organiz  ition.  Not  long  after,  A.  R.  Rankin, 
a  licentiate,  was  called  to  be  their  pastor,  and 
accepting  the  call,  was  installed  in  the  fall 
of  1852.  A  church  was  built  a  few  years 
later,  which  served  as  a  house  of  worship  for 
nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century.  Rev.  Rankin 
remained  with  them  some  five  or  six  years 
and  the  congregation  increased  rapidly.     He 


was  succeeded  by  Rev.  J.  D.  McNay  as  stated 
supply,  and  about  1858,  while  he  was  yet 
with  them,  the  churches  were  united  under 
the  name  of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church. 
Rev.  McNay  and  a  portipn  of  his  flock  de- 
clined going  into  this  union,  and  Rev.  R. 
Gil  more,  assistant  editor  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian Witness,  of  Cincinnati,  re-organized  the 
church  and  reported  it  as  a  "  vacancy,"  under 
the  care  of  the  Presbytery  of  southern 
Indiana.  Rev.  Alexander  MacHatton  was 
pastor  in  18G1,  at  which  time  the  membership 
was  thirty-eight.  The  congregation  used  the 
Beckwith  Prairie  church  until  they  could 
build  one  of  their  own,  which  they  did  some 
years  later;  a  good  substantial  building,  and 
free  of  debt.  This  was  the  first  building 
erected  in  Morea,  and  is  still  occupied  by  the 
congregation,  though  there  is  not  one  of  the 
original  thirty-eight  now  in  connection  with 
it.  Soon  after  building  the  house  the  mem- 
bership increased  to  120.  A  few  families 
then  in  the  northwest  part  of  the  congrega- 
tion obtained  leave  and  formed  a  new  church, 
and  erected  a  building  at  Duncanville,  where 
they  have  prospered,  and  for  some  years  have 
had  a  settled  pastor  in  Rev.  Hugh  MacHat- 
ton. In  April  1877,  after  about  sixteen  years' 
service  Rev.  Alexander  MacHatton  resigned 
bis  charge,  and  is  now  living  on  a  farm  near 
Morea.  The  next  pastor  was  Rev.  O.  G. 
Brockett,  in  1879,  who  remained  until  1882, 
since  which  time  the  church  has  had  no 
pastor.  It  has  now  about  filty-five  members 
and  is  in  a  flourishing  condition. 

A  Sunday-school  is  maintained,  and  was 
organized  in  18G2,  and  since  then  it  has  con- 
tinued uninterruptedly.  The  attendance  is 
about  ninety  children. 

The  Green  Hill  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
was  organized  about  1850-55.  Although  the 
Methodists  had  lield  meetings  in  the  neigh- 
borhood ever  since  1830  in  log  school-houses, 
and  in  the  cabins  of  the  early  settlers,  it  was 


192 


PIISTOEY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


not  until  this  time  that  an  organization  was 
effected.  One  Dr.  J.  R.  Winn,  who  came 
here  about  1837,  made  a  will,  in  1855,  in 
which  he  donated  land  on  which  to  build  a 
church,  and  also  gave  $100  for  the  same  pur- 
pose, on  condition  that  the  people  would 
build  it  within  a  given  time.  A  frame  church 
■was  erected,  and  the  original  members  were 
twelve  in  number;  at  piesent  there  are  but 
sixteen  members.  The  first  minister  was 
Rev.  Bruner.  The  church  is  in  the  same  cir- 
cuit of  Wesley  chapel,  and  since  its  organi- 
zation has  been  administered  to  by  the  same 
preachers,   except  in  1878   and   1879,  when 


they  had  their  own  minister,  Rev.  Mr.  Hen- 
nessey. The  present  pastor  is  Rev.  J.  U. 
Reeder.  The  church  was  dedicated  by  Rev. 
C.  J.  Houts,  presiding  elder.  A  Sabbath- 
school,  established  in  1874,  is  maintained 
under  the  charge  of  the  church,  of  which  J. 
Landreth  is  superintendent. 

Another  denomination,  the  Christians,  have 
an  organization  here  and  hold  their  meetings 
in  this  church.  It  was  organized  by  Rev. 
J.  R.  Wright,  who  is  the  present  pastor.  But 
other  ministers  have  been  with  them  at  dif- 
ferent times. 


CHAPTER    XVII.* 


MARTIN  AND    SOUTHWEST   TOWNSHIPS— POSITION   AND   BOUNDARIES— FORMATION    OF 

SOUTHWEST— WATER    COURSES— SOIL— PRODUCTIONS— TIMBER— PIONEER  SET- 
TLEMENT—EARLY INCIDENTS  AND  INDUSTaiES— LIFE  IN  THE  WIL- 
DERNESS—EARLY ROADS— CHURCH  AND  SCHOOL  HIS- 
TORY—VILLAGES, ETC.,  ETC. 

The  formation 


"Time  though  old  is  swift  in  fliglit." 

THE  unheeded  lapse  of  time  is  the  histo- 
rian's greatest  enemy.  The  events  of  one 
day  are  so  closely  crowded  by  those  of  the 
next,  and  so  much  occupied  are  we  with  the 
aflFairs  of  the  present,  that  almost  unawares 
we  fulfill  the  scriptural  injunction:  "Take  no 
thought  for  the  morrow."  History  is  commonly 
defined  to  be  a  record  of  past  events,  but 
shall  we  wait  till  the  events  must  be  recalled 
by  di'feclive  memories  before  we  record  them? 
Th.  !i  W('  get  no  perfect  history,  for  no  mem- 
ory is  infallible,  and  often  lie  who  thinks  him- 
self most  sure  is  least  to  bo  relied  upon.  In 
recording  the  annals  of  even  so  small  a  place 
as  a  single  township,  absolute  justice  can  not 
be  given,  as  many  events  of  importance,  to- 
gether with  the  actors  who  participated  there- 
in have  been  forgotten  through  the  lapse  of 
time.  The  division  of  Crawford  County, 
which  forms  the  subject  of  this  chapter,  origi- 
nally embraced  the  present  townships  of 
Martin  and  Southwest,  and  included  in  all 
fiftv-six  square  miles  of  territory,  with  the 
followiiig  boundaries:  Oblong  Township  on 
the  north,  Robinson  on  the  east,  Lawrence 
and  Richland  counties  on  the  south,  and 
Jasper  County  on  the  west. 

A  few  years  after  township  organization 
(1869),  that  portion  lying  south  of  the  Em- 
barras  was  formed  into  a  distinct  division 
with  the  river  for  its  northern  boundary,  and 

*ByG.N.  Ben-y. 


named  Southwest  Township, 
of  Southwest  was  brought  about  by  petition 
signed  by  the  citizens  of  that  part  of  the 
country,  and  chief  among  the  several  reasons 
urged  in  favor  of  the  division  was  the  diffi- 
culty experienced  Jn  reaching  the  voting 
place  on  account  of  high  water  during  cer- 
tain seasons  of  the  year.  The  history  of  the 
tvv  1  townships,  however,  is  identical,  and  in 
the  pages  which  follow  we  speak  of  them 
both  as  one  division.  The  tov\nship  is  well 
watered  and  drained  by  the  Embarras  river. 
Big  Creek,  Dogwood  Branch,  Honey  Creek 
and  their  affluents  which  traverse  the  country 
in  various  directions.  Embarras  river,  the 
principal  stream  of  importance,  flows  between 
the  two  townships,  crossing  the  western 
boundary  in  section  4,  and  passing  a  north 
easterly  direction  about  four  miles,  and  unites 
with  Big  Creek  in  section  8.  From  this  point 
the  channel  deflects  to  the  southwest,  leaving 
the  township  from  section  24  about  one  mile 
north  of  the  southern  boundary.  The  stream 
flows  through  a  well  wooded  but  somewhat 
flat  country,  and  afi'ords  the  principal  drain- 
age for  the  western  and  southern  portions  of 
the  county.  Big  Creek,  the  second  stream 
in  size,  flows  a  southerly  direction,  through 
the  central  part  of  the  township,  and  passes 
in  its  course  through  sections  21,  22,  29  and 
32  of  town  G,  and  section  5  of  town  5.  Dog- 
wood Branch  is  the  largest  tributary,  which 
it  receives  in  section  29,  in  the  northern  part 
of  the  township.     Honey  Creek  flows  through 


194 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


a  somewhat  broken  portion  of  country,  lying 
in  the  eastern  part  of  the  township,  and 
empties  into  the  Embarras  in  section  13. 
The  general  surface  of  the  township  is  what 
might  be  termed  level  with  undulations  of  an 
irregular  character  in  the  southeastern  part 
and  along  the  streams  enumerated.  About 
three  fourths  of  the  area  is  woodland,  the 
forest  growth  consisting  principally  of  the 
different  varieties  of  oak,  hickory,  ash,  maple, 
with  walnut,  elm  and  sycamore  skirting  the 
creeks.  When  first  settled  the  woods  were 
almost  entirely  devoid  of  undergrowth,  ow- 
ing to  the  prevalence  of  forest  and  prairie 
fires,  which  swept  over  the  country  in  fall  of 
each  year.  With  the  improvement  of  the 
land  these  fires  ceased,  and  in  woods  which 
have  not  been  disturbed  a  rank  growth  of 
"underbush"  has  sprung  up,  principally 
spice,  pawpaw,  grapevine,  dogwood  and 
many  other  varieties.  The  northeast  corner 
of  the  township  is  occupied  by  an  arm  of  the 
Grand  Prairie,  which  embraces  an  area 
equivalent  to  about  eight  sections.  The 
prairie  presents  a  very  level  surface  and  af- 
fords many  inducements  to  the  stock-raiser, 
as  the  greater  portion  of  it  is  much  better 
adapted  to  pasturage  than  to  general  farming. 
The  south  end  of  Oblong  Prairie  extends  into 
the  northwest  part  of  the  township,  while  a 
strip  of  prairie  land  about  five  miles  long 
and  one  mile  wide  extends  along  the  southern 
boundary.  The  soil  of  the  land  lying  remote 
from  the  water  courses  is  a  gray  clay-loam 
mixed  with  gravel,  while  the  low  ground  ad- 
jacent to  the  creeks  possesses  a  deep  black, 
mucky  soil,  rich  in  decayed  vagetable  matter 
and  very  fertile.  Corn  and  wheat  are  the 
staple  productions  of  the  wooded  portions  of 
the  country,  while  corn  and  grass  are  the 
leading  crops  raised  on  the  prairies.  Taken 
as  a  whole  the  township  is  not  so  well 
adapted  to  agriculture  as  the  northern  and 
eastern  divisions  of  the  county,  but  as  a  fruit 


growing  country  it  stands  second  to  no  other 
township. 

The  early  settlement  of  Martin    Township, 
like  all  portions  of  the  county,   is    somewhat 
obscured,  and  we  are  left  in  a  great  measure  to 
conjecture.     It  is  thought,  however,  that  one 
Daniel  Martin  was  the  first  to  make  improve- 
ments, and  it  is  certain  that  he  made  the  first 
entry  of  land  as  early  as  the  year   1830.     He 
was  a   native  of  the    State    of  Georgia,   and 
left    his    childhood    home    some    years    prior 
to    the  dawn  of  the  present  century,  and  set- 
tled in  Kentucky.     He  married  in  the  latter 
State    and    eniigrated   to   Illinois   about  the 
year  1810,  settling,  with  a  number  of  others 
who  accompanied  him  near  the  present    site 
of  Palestine.     His  journey  to  the  new  country 
was    replete    with    many    incidents,    some  of 
tliera  of  a  decidedly  unpletsant  nature,    for 
at  that  time  the  country   was  full  of  Indians, 
many  of  whom  were  inclined  to    be    trouble- 
some.      Martin    packed    his     few    household 
goods  on  one  horse  and  his  family  on  another 
and  thus  the  trip  through  the  wilderness  was 
made  in  safety,  though  they  were   surrounded 
at  different  times    by    hostile  redskins,  and 
it  was  only  through   Martin's  fiimness    that 
the     lives     of     the      little      company     were 
spared    to    reach    their    destination.     Upon 
his  arrival  at  Palestine,  Martin  fi  und  himself 
in  possession  of  sufficient  means  to  purchase 
thirtv  acres  of  land  on  which   a  previous  set- 
tler  had  made    a    few    rude     improvements. 
During   the   Indian    troubles    he  figured  as  a 
brave  fighter  and  participated  in  many  bloody 
hand-to-hand  combats  with  the  savages,  whom 
he  hated    with  all  the  intensity  cf  his    strong 
ruffo-ed    nature.       Being   a    great  hunter,  he 
passed  much  of  his  time  in  the  woods,  and  in 
one  of  his  hunting  tovirs   he  chanced    to  pass 
through  the  central  part  of  this  township,  and 
being   pleased  with   the  appearance    of   the 
country  he  decided  to  make  a  locatirm  here  and 
secure    a    home.      He    was  induced  to  take 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


195 


this  step  from  two  considerations:  one  for  the 
purpose  of  securing  mora  land  than  he  at 
that  time  possessed,  and  the  other  beini;r  his 
desire  to  rid  himself  of  society,  for  the  usages 
and  conventionalities  of  which  he  had  the 
mo-t  profound  contempt.  He  sold  his  little 
farm  to  Joshua  Crews  in  the  year  1830,  and 
from  the  proceeds  was  enabled  to  enter  eighty 
acres  of  government  land,  which  he  did  soon 
after,  selecting  for  his  home  the  east  half  of 
the  southeast  quarter  of  section  Si,  in  town 
6  north,  range  13  west.  He  immediately  be- 
gan improving  his  land  by  erecting  thereon 
a  good  log  cabin  twenty  by  eighteen  feet,  to 
which  he  moved  his  large  family  as  soon  as 
the  building  was  raised  and  roofed.  Mar- 
tin did  but  little  work  on  the  farm,  leaving 
that  labor  to  be  performed  by  his  daughters, 
of  whom  there  were  several  buxom  lasses 
who  inherited  their  father's  powerful  physical 
strength  in  a  marked  degree.  They  opened 
the  farm,  did  almost  all  the  plowing,  chopped 
wood  and  looked  after  the  interests  of  the 
place  in  general,  while  the  father's  rifle 
kept  the  family  well  supplied  with  fresh 
meat.  Upon  one  occasion  while  out  hunting, 
he  had  a  narrow  escape  from  being  shot,  under 
the  following  circumstances:  He  and  a  com- 
panion, who  was  getting  old  and  had  defect- 
ive eyesight,  started  out  one  morning  in 
quest  of  deer,  Martin  riding  his  favorite 
steed,  "Old  Ball."  A  fine  buck  was  soon 
started  to  which  the  hunters  gave  chase.  Mar- 
tin, who  was  an  expert  shot,  directed  his  com- 
rade to  circle  round  a  certain  piece  of  woods  for 
the  purpose  of  dislodging  the  deer,  while  he 
would  remain  stationary  and  drop  it  as  it  went 
by.  The  hunter  followed  the  directions  as 
well  as  he  could,  but  being  misled  by  his  near- 
sightedness, soon  got  back  near  the  spot 
where  Martin  was  stationed.  Seeing,  as  he 
supposed,  the  deer  among  the  branches,  and 
thinking  to  surprise  Martin,  he  "drew  bead" 
and  fired.     The  surprise  was    complete    both 


to  Martin  and  himself,  for  no  sooner  was  the 
gun  discharged  than  Martin's  voice  broke  the 
stillness  in  the  following  terse  exclamation: 
"  There,  by  the  gods,  poor  Ball's  gone."  The 
horse  had  been  shot  dead.  Martin  lived  on 
his  place  about  thirtv-three  years,  and 
died  in  1SG3  at  the  age  of  seventy-si.TC 
vears.  Two  daughters,  Mrs.  Shipman  and 
Mrs.  Thomas,  are  living  in  the  township 
at  the  present  time.  The  old  homestead 
is  owned  and  occupied  by  Esau  Har- 
din. The  next  actual  settler  of  whom  we 
have  any  knowledge  was  Abel  Prvor,  who 
located  near  the  village  of  Hardinsville  in  the 
year  1831.  He  was  born  in  Kentucky  and 
moved  from  that  State  to  Illinois  in  an  early 
day  and  settled  near  the  Palestine  fort. 
Here  he  became  acquainted  with  a  daughter 
of  John  Martin,  between  whom  and  himself 
a  mutual  attachment  sprang  up  which  soon 
terminated  in  matrimony.  After  his  marriage 
Pryor  moved  to  Coles  County,  where  he  lived 
about  three  years,  when,  becoming  dissatis- 
fied with  the  country,  he  came  to  this  town- 
ship and  entered  land  in  section  26,  at  the 
date  mentioned.  He  possessed  many  of  the 
characteristics  of  the  successful  business 
man,  to  which  were  added  an  almost  inordi- 
nate love  of  out-door  sports,  especially  hunt- 
ing, which  continued  to  be  his  favorite 
amusement  as  long  as  he  lived.  He  became 
the  possessor  of  several  tracts  of  valuable 
land,  and  raised  a  large  family,  consisting  of 
sixteen  children,  a  number  of  whom  still 
reside  in  the  township.  Pryor  died  in  the 
year  1875.  A  man  by  name  of  Huffman  set- 
tled in  the  eastern  part  of  the  township  about 
the  same  time  that  Pryor  came  to  the  country, 
but  of  him  nothing  is  known  save  that  he  mad 
a  few  improvements  on  land  which  was  entered 
by  Absalom  Higgins  two  years  later.  William 
Wilkinson  settled  near  what  is  known  as  the 
Dark  Bend  on  the  Embarras  River,  in  1831, 
where  he  cleared  a  small  farm.     A  short  time 


196 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


after  his  arrival  he  married  a  daiicrhter  of 
Daniel  Martin,  which  is  sa  d  to  have  been  the 
first  wedding  that  occurred  in  the  township. 
He  afterward  entered  land  on  the  lower  end  of 
Oblong  Prairie,  where  he  resided  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  about  the  year  18G3. 

Among  other  pioneers  who  secured  homes 
in  the  township  in  1831  was  William  Ship- 
man,  who  located  near  the  site  of  Hardinsvilie 
village.     Shipman   was   a   native   of   Indiana 
and  a  man  of  considerable  prominence  in  ihe 
community,  having  been  noted  for  his  indus- 
try and    business   tact.     He  entered   land   in 
section  34  a  few  years  later  and  was  one  of 
the  principal  movers  in  the  laying  out  of  Har- 
dinsvilie.   His  marriage  with  Virginia,  daugh- 
ter of  Daniel  Martin,  about  throe  years  after 
his  arrival,  was  the  second  event  of  the  kind 
that  transpired  in  the  township.     In  the  year 
1833  the  following  persons  and  their  families 
were    added    to    the    township's    population: 
Hezekiah  Martin,  Zachariah  Thomas  and  Absa- 
lom Hio-gins.     The  first-named  was  a  nephew 
of  Daniel  Martin.  He  was  a  native  of  Kentucky 
and  came  with  his  uncle  to  Illinois,  and  lived 
until  the  year  1833  on  a  small  farm  near  Pal- 
estine.    The   farm  which  he  improved  in  this 
township  lies  in  section  34,  near  HanlinsviUe. 
He  lived  here  about  five  3'ears,  when  he  traded 
his  place  to  EphraimKiger  for  a  mill  on  Brushy 
Run  in  Honej-  Creek  Township,  to  which  he 
moved  in  the  year  1838.     Higgins,  to  whom 
reference  has  already  been  made,  settled  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  township  on  land  which  had 
been  improved  by  Hufi'man,  whom  he  bought 
out.     He  immigrated  to  this  State  from  Ken- 
tucky, and  was,  like  man}^  of  the  early  settlers 
of  the  county,  a  pioneer  hunter  of  the  most 
pronounced  type.    He  kept  a  large  number  of 
dogs,  with  which   he  hunted  wolves,  and  was 
instrumental,  in   a  great  measure,  in  ridding 
the  county  of  these  pests.     On  one  occasion, 
while  out   hunting,  his  dogs   brought  a  large 
panther  to  bay,  but  were  afraid  to  attack  it. 


Higgins  encouraged  tlie  dogs  for  the  purpose, 
he  said,  of  "seiiing  some  fun,"  but  was  very 
soon  sorry  for  what  he  did,  when  he  saw  two 
of  his  favorites  bite  the  dust.     At  this  junc- 
ture he  thought  it  was  time  for  him  to  act,  so 
he  took  deliberate  aim  at  the  beast  and  fired. 
Instead  of  the  shot  taking  effect  on  the  pan- 
ther, it   killed   one  of  his  dogs,  as  they  were 
running  around  and  barking  at  a  fearful  rate, 
another   and   another  shot  were   fired,  which 
only  wounded  the  wild  animal,  and  a  fourth 
discharge  laid  out  another  of  the  dogs.     Fi- 
nally,  after  discharging  seventeen   shots  and 
killing  three  dogs,  he  succeeded  in  bringing 
the  ferocious  animal  to  the  ground.     Higgins 
was  a  resident  of  the  township  until  the  year 
1863,  at  which  time  he  sold  his  possessions  to 
Garrett  Wilson   and   moved  to  Terre   Haute, 
Indiana.       Thomas    was    a    Kentuckian,   and 
made    his   first   improvements'  in   section   34. 
But  little  canJbe  said  of  him — at  least  in  his 
favor,  as   he  was   not  what   one  would  call^ 
valuable  acquisition  to  a  community.    Among 
the   more  prominent  settlers  of  the  township 
is  remembered  Thomas  R.  Boyd,  who  moved 
here  from  Palestine  about  the  year  183(3  and 
located   a   short   distance   from    Hardinsvilie. 
He   was   one    of  the    early  pioneers   of   tlie 
county,    having    moved     from    Kentucky    to 
Palestine  when   the   latter  place^.was  a  mere 
hamlet  of  two  or  three    houses.      He  was   a 
prominent   farmer,  and  one  of  the  first  stock- 
dealers  in  the  township,  at  which  business  he 
accumulated  considerable  wealth.     His  death 
occurred   in   the  year  1877.     His  widow  and 
two  daughters  are  residing  in  Martin   at  the 
present  time.     Samuel  R.  Boyd,  a  brother  of 
the  preceding',  came  out  on  a  vssit   from  his 
native  State   about  the  year  1837,  and   being 
pleased  with  the   country,  he   determined  to 
locate    here    and    make    it   his   home,    which 
decision  was  strengthened  by  the  earnest  so- 
licitation of  his  brother's  family.    He  married, 
soon  after  his  arrival,  a  young  lady  by  name 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


197 


of  Hiiskins,  and  inimediateiy  went  to  work 
and  soon  had  a  fine  farm  under  successful 
cultivation.  He  sold  his  farm  to  a  man  by 
name  of  Baker,  in  the  year  1850,  and  moved 
to  Fort  .Jackson  in  the  adjoining  townsliip  of 
Honey  Creek.  Other  settlers  came  in  from 
time  to  time,  among  whom  were  .John  Gar- 
rard, Alfred  Griswold,  Benjamin  Boyd,  .John 
Thomas  and  Robert  Boyd.  Garrard  improved 
a  farm  in  section  23,  on  land  which  he  ob- 
tained from  the  government  in  the  year  1838. 
He  was,  like  the  majority  of  pioneers  in  this 
section  of  the  county,  a  native  of  Kentucky, 
and  raised  the  largest  family  in  the  township. 
He  was  the  father  of  seventeen  children,  the 
majority  of  whom  grew  up  to  manhood  and 
womanhood.  Griswold  entered  a  large  tract 
of  land  in  section  15,  but  did  not  improve  it. 
Thomas  was  a  son-in-law  of  Daniel  Martin, 
and  a  man  of  but  little  consequence  in  the 
community.  His  distinguishing  character- 
istic was  a  dislike  for  anything  known  as 
work,  and  his  laz  ness  became  proverbial 
throughout  his  entire  neighborhood.  Benja- 
min and  Thomas  Boyd  were  brothers  of  the 
Boyds  already  alluded  to,  and  like  them  were 
men  of  eiiterijrise  and  character.  Benjamin 
and  Ezekiel  Bogart,  two  brothers,  came  to 
the  township  in  an  early  day  and  located  at 
the  Dark  Bend  near  the  central  part  of  the 
township.  They  made  but  few  Improve- 
ments; and  if  all  reports  concerning  them  are 
true,  many  acts  of  lawlessness  were  traced  to 
their  doors.  A  short  time  after  their  arrival 
William  Wilkinson,  Jackson  Inlow,  David 
lidow,  .Jerry  ^V'ilkinson,  Ephraim  Wilkinson, 
and  Thomas  Inlow,  made  their  appearance 
and  settled  in  the  same  locality.  They  were 
ail  men  of  doubtful  character,  and  their  neigh- 
borhood became  widely  noted  as  a  place  of 
bad  repute.  'Tis  said,  upon  good  authority, 
that  the  Bend  was  noted  for  years  as  the  ren- 
dezvous of  a  gang  of  horse-thieves  and  out- 
laws who  chose  it  as  a  secure  refuge  from  the 


minions  of  the  law.  Many  crimes  of  a  much 
darker  shade  than  stealing  are  said  to  have 
been  committed  among  the  somber  recesses 
of  the  thick  woods,  and  persons  having  occa- 
sion to  pass  through  that  locality  alw?.3's  went 
well  armed.  The  following  fatal  termination 
of  a  deadly  feud  which  existed  between  two 
brothers,  Jack  and  Thomas  Inlow,  is  related : 
It  appears  that  both  brothers  became  enam- 
ored of  the  same  woman,  a  widovir  of  unsa- 
vorv  reputation  by  name  of  May.  A  bitter 
jealousy  soon  sprang  up,  which  was  aug- 
mented by  the  woman,  who  encouraged  the 
visits  of  both,  and  so  bitter  did  this  feeling 
become  that  threats  of  violence  were  openly 
made  by  the  two  desperate  men.  They  both 
happened  to  meet  at  the  "siren's"  house  one 
day  and  a  terrible  quarrel  ensued,  during 
which  weapons  were  dra^w  and  freely  used. 
In  the  fight  which  followed,  Thomas  was  fa- 
tally shot,  and  died  soon  afterward.  David 
was  arrested  and  lodged  in  the  Palestine  jail. 
He  was  tried  for  murder,  but  was  cleared  on 
the  ground  of  self-defense.  The  woman  mar- 
ried again  soon  afterward,  but  was  never  heard 
to  express  a  regret  for  the  sad  occurrence  of 
which  she  was  the  cause. 

The  following  persons  additional  to  the  set- 
tlers already  enumerated,  made  entries  of 
land  in  the  township  prior  to  the  year  18-10: 
Bethel  Martin,  in  section  23;  William  B. 
Martin,  section  22;  Robert  Goss,  in  section 
25;  Benjamin  Mvers,  in  section  30;  and  Fos- 
ter Donald,  in  section  22.  The  last  named 
is  the  oldest  settler  in  the  township  at  the 
present  time,  having  been  identified  with  the 
country's  growth  and  development  since  the 
year  1830.  (See  biography.)  Jlrs.  Donald 
relates  that  during  the  first  summer  of  their 
residence  in  the  township,  her  husband  was 
absent  the  greater  part  of  the  time  making 
brick  at  Palestine.  In  his  absence  she  was 
left  .alone,  and  in  addition  to  her  domestic 
duties,  she  was  compelled    to  look    after  the. 


193 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


interests  of  the  place,  and  many  lonely  nights 
were    passed    in    the    little    cabin  while  the 
wolves  chased  around  the  house  and  scratched 
upon  the  door  trying  to  get  in.     Probably  in 
no  other  part  of  the  county  were  the  wolves 
as  troublesome  as  in  this  township,  and  for  a 
number  of  years  the   settlers    found  it  very 
difficult  to  raise  any  stock  on  account  of  them. 
Their  attacks  were  not  always  confined  to  cat- 
tle and  sheep,  as  the  following  will  go  to  prove : 
A  Mr.  Waldrop  shot  a   deer    upon  one  occa- 
sion, and   dressed  it  in   the  woods;  while  in 
the  act   of  hanging  the    meat  on   a  limb,  he 
was  set  upon  by  a  pack  of  wolves  and  com- 
pelled to  flee  for   his  life.     After  devouring 
the  part  of  the  deer  left  on  the  ground  the 
wolves  followed  up  the  trail  of  AValdrop,  and 
soon     overtook     him.     He     shot    two    of  his 
pursuers,  but   soon   found  himself  in   a  death 
struggle  with  his  fierce  assailants.     His  cloth- 
ing was  almost  stripped   from   his  body  and 
a  number  of  ugly  wounds  inflicted,  when  he 
gained   a  tree    near   by,  which   he  ascended. 
He   passed  the   long,  cold  night  in   his  lofty 
perch  listening  to  the  wild  howls  of  his  gaunt 
enemies,  and  was  not  relieved  until  the  fol- 
lowing morning.     Many  devices  were  resorted 
to  by  the  settlers  to  rid  the   county   of  the 
wolves,  the    most  popular   of  which   was  the 
Sunday  hunts,  when  all  the  citizens  for  miles 
around  would   start   at   a   given   signal,   and 
close  in  on    a  circle.     This  would   bring  the 
wolves   close   together    when    they  could  be 
easily   shot.     Another  serious    hindrance    to 
the  pioneer  farmer   was  the    numerous  flocks 
of  crows  which  infested  the  country.     These 
birds   destroyed  almost  entire  fields  of  corn, 
and  premiums  were  ofi"ered  for  their  destruc- 
tion.   Grain-fields  had  to  be  carefully  watched, 
and  when  the  field  was  very  large,  dogs  were 
tied    in    difi'erent   places    to  scare    the  birds 
away,  while  the  man  with  his  gun  watched 
the  other  parts. 
The  settlers  obtained  their  flour  and  meal 


from  the  early    mills  at   Palestine    and   Law- 
renceville,   and  in    later  years  the   little  mill 
belonging  to  Joseph  Wood  in  Oblong  Town- 
ship was  patronized.     The  first  mil!  in  Martin 
was  built  by  a  Mr.  York  as  early  as  the  year 
1840  and  stood  on  the  Einbarras  in  the  south- 
west part  of  the  township.     It  was  a  water- 
mill  with  two  run  of  buhrs,   and   for  several 
years  did  a  very  good   business.     A  saw  was 
afterward  attached,  which  proved  a  very  pay- 
ing venture.     York  operated  the  mill  a  short 
time  when  he  sold  to  Alexander  Stewart  who 
run    it    very    successfully    for    about  twenty 
years.     A  man  by  name  of  Williams  then  pur- 
chased it,  and  in  turn  sold  to  John  Baker,  who 
operated  it  but  few  years.     It  ceased  opera- 
tions a   number  of  years  ago,  when   the  dam 
washed  out.     The  old  building  is  still  stand- 
ing a  monument  of  days  gone    by.     A  steam 
flouring  mill  was  erected  at  the   little   village 
of  Freeport  about  the  year  1848,  but  by  whom 
was  not  learned.     It  was  a   good   mill    with 
two  run  of  buhrs,  and  for  a  number  of  years 
was  extensively  patronized.     The  last  owners 
were  McNeiss  and  Sons.     An   early  industry 
of  the  township  was  the  Ruby  distillery,  which 
stood  about  two  and  a  half  miles  east  of  the 
village  of  Hardinsville.     It   was   erected    in 
the  year  1858  and  ceased  operations  about 
the  year  186'.J,  the  proprietor  being  unable  to 
pay  the  large  revenue  demanded  by  the  gov- 
ernment.    It  had    a    capacity    of   about  one 
hundred  gallons  of  whisky  per  day,   and  dur- 
ino-  the  years  it  was  run  before  the  war,  did  a 
very  good  business.     But  little  can  be  said  of 
the  early  churches  of  Martin,  as  the  first  set- 
tlers were  not  all  religiously  inclined.     Sun- 
day was  their  gala   day,   and   was   generally 
spent  in  hunting,  horse   racing,  or  in  athletic 
sports,  such  as  jumping,  wrestling,  etc.,  favor- 
ite amusements  during  pioneer  times. 

The  first  religious  exercises  were  conducted 
by  Elder  Stephen  Canady,  a  Baptist  minister, 
at  Daniel  Martin's  barn.     This  meeting  had 


HISTORY  OB  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


199 


been  announced  several  days  previous,  and 
when  the  hour  for  services  arrived,  the  barn 
was  partially  filled  with  women  and  children. 
The  men  accompanied  their  families,  but  did 
not  go  into  the  sanctuary;  at  the  close  of  the 
service,  each  stunly  pioneer  shouldered  his 
gun  which  he  always  carried  wi'.h  him,  and 
spent  the  remainder  of  the  d  ly  in  the  woods, 
much  to  the  minister's  disgust.  Jesse  York, 
a  Methodist  preacher,  living  in  Oblong  Town- 
ship, organized  a  small  class  at  the  residence 
of  Jacob  Garrard  about  the  year  1846.  The 
original  members  of  this  class  as  far  as  known 
were  Jacob  Garrard  and  wife,  Polly  Garrard, 
Margaret  Higgins,  Caroline  Donald,  Lillis 
Peacock  and  wife,  Samuel  R.  Boyd  and  wife, 
and  John  Haskins  and  wife.  York  preached 
several  years  and  was  a  man  of  great  zeal  and 
piety.  Dr.  Hally,  of  Hebron,  was  an  early 
preacher  and  did  much  towards  building  up 
the  consregation.  Garrard's  residence  was 
used  as  a  meeting  place  until  a  school-house 
was  erected  in  the  neighborhood.  Services 
were  held  in  the  school-house  at  stated  inter- 
vals until  the  year  1881,  when  in  conjunction 
■with  the  United  Brethren,  the  church  erected 
a  very  commodious  temple  of  worship 
about  two  miles  north  of  Hardinsville  on 
ground  donated  by  Foster  Donald.  The 
building  is  a  frame  structure  with  a  seating 
capacity  of  about  two  hundred  and  fifty,  and 
cost  the  sum  of  $300. 

The  Hardinsville  Christian  church  was 
organized  about  the  year  1850  with  a  substan- 
tial membership.  Services  were  conducted 
at  the  Hardinsville  school-house  until  the  year 
1858,  when  their  present  house  of  worship  was 
erected.  It  was  built  principally  by  donation 
of  work  by  the  citizens  of  the  vicinity  and  re- 
presents a  capital  of  about  S600.  It  is  a 
frame  house  30x40  feet  and  will  comfortably 
seat  two  hundred  persons.  Among  the  pas- 
tors, and  stated  supplies  of  the  church  were 
Elder  Morgan,  Allan  G.  McNees,  to  whose 


efforts  the  society  is  indebted  for  much  of  its 
success.  F.  il.  Shirk, Beard, Lock- 
hart,  P.  C.  Cauble,  Joan  Crawford  and  Sala- 
thiel  Lamb,  the  last  named  being  pastor  in 
charge  at  the  present  time.  The  present 
membership  is  about  forty.  A  Methodist 
class  was  organized  at  Hardinsville  a  number 
of  years  ago,  with  a  membership  of  about 
thirty;  meetings  were  held  in  the  school-house 
for  some  years,  and  efforts  were  made  at  one 
time  to  erect  a  house  of  worship.  The  house 
was  never  built,  however,  and  the  class  was 
finally  disbanded.  A  second  class  was 
organized  at  the  same  place  in  the  year 
1883  by  Rev.  Dee.  Aiiout  twenty  mem- 
bers belonged  to  this  class  and  worship 
was  regularly  held  at  the  school-house  for 
one  year.  The  old  school-house  was  sold  in 
the  fall  of  1881,  and  a  new  one  erected,  in 
which  religious  services  were  not  allowed  to 
be  held.  Since  then  there  have  been  no  reg- 
ular meetings  of  the  society.  At  the  present 
time  efforts  are  being  made  to  build  a  meeting 
house.  The  United  Brethren  have  a  good 
society  which  meets  for  worship  in  the  new 
church  north  of  Hardinsville,  to  which  we 
have  already  alluded.  The  society  is  in  a 
flourishing  condition  and  numbers  among  its 
members  some  of  the  best  citizens  of  the 
country. 

The  Missionary  Baptists  have  a  society  in 
the  eastern  part  of  the  township,  which  is 
large  and  well  attended.  They  have  no 
house  of  worship  but  use  a  school-house  for 
church  purposes. 

The  first  school  in  the  township  was  taught 
about  the  year  18-43,  in  a  little  hewed  log 
house  which  stood  a  short  distance  south  of 
Hardinsville.  The  name  of  the  first  teach- 
er and  particulars  concerning  his  school 
could  not  be  learned.  The  house  was  moved 
to  the  village  a  short  time  afterward  and 
was  used  for  school  and  church  purposes  a 
great  many  years.     The  second  achool-house 


200 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


■was  built  about  four  years  later  and  stood  on 
the  Bethel  Martin  farm  north  of  Hardinsville. 
It  was  a  hewed  log  structure  also,  and  was 
first  used  by  William  Cunningham  in  the 
■winter  of  1846  and  1847.  Cunningham's 
school  was  attended  by  about  twenty  pupils, 
and  he  is  remembered  as  a  very  competent  in- 
structor. Samuel  Blakely  and  Miss  Dee  were 
early  teachers  at  this  place  also.  A  third 
bouse  was  erected  about  two  miles  west  of 
Hardinsville  in  the  year  1850.  It  was  built  of 
plank,  and  was  in  constant  use  until  1882,  when 
it  was  torn  down  and  replaced  by  a  more 
commodious  frame  structure.  Another  early 
school-house  stood  east  of  the  village  on 
land  which  belonged  to  a  Mr.  Dewcomer. 
It  was  built  about  the  year  185(3  and  was  in 
use  until  1880.  At  the  present  time  there 
are  ten  good  frame  houses  in  the  township, 
all  of  which  are  well  furnished  with  ail  the 
modern  educational  appliances.  The  schools 
are  well  supported  and  last  from  four  to 
seven  months  in  the  year. 

The  village  of  Hardinsville  is  situated  in  the 
southwestern  part  of  the  township  in  section 
34,  and  dates  history  from  September,  1847.  It 
was  laid  out  by  Daniel  Martin,  purely  as  a 
speculation  venture,  but  the  growth  of  the 
town  never  came  up  to  bis  expectations. 
"While  the  village  plat  was  being  surveyed 
Martin  was  interrogated  by  a  by-stander  as 
to  what  his  intentions  were  in  locating  a  town 
in  such  an  out-of-the  way  place.  The  old 
man  replied  in  his  characteristic  humor, 
"Why,  by  the  gods,  twenty  years  from  this 
time  will  see  a  second  St.  Louis  right  on  this 
spot  or  I  am  no  true  prophet."  Will- 
iam Shipman  erected  a  store  building  and 
engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  about  the 
time  the  village  was  laid  out.  He  sold  both 
bouse  and  goods  to  Charles  Inman  two  years 
later  who  increased  the  stock  and  did  a  very 
good  business  for  about  three  years  when  he 
closed  out  and  moved  from  the  place. 


Among  the  first  business  men  of  the 
village  was  one  Daniel  Miller,  a  rough  char- 
acter, who  kept  a  small  grocerj^  and  whisky 
shop  which  was  the  resort  of  all  the  desper- 
adoes of  the  country.  This  place  became 
such  an  eyesore  to  the  community  that  efforts 
were  made  to  induce  Miller  to  quit  the 
whisky  business  and  turn  bis  attention  to 
other  pursuits.  To  all  these  efforts,  however, 
be  turned  a  deaf  ear,  and  instead  of  the  "dive" 
becoming  more  civil  it  became  worse  and 
worse.  At  last  the  patience  of  the  better 
class  of  citizens  became  exhausted,  and  as  a 
dernier  resort  a  keg  of  powder  was  placed 
under  the  building,  after  the  carousers  bad 
left,  the  charge  was  exploded,  and  the  last 
seen  of  the  saloon  it  was  flying  skyward  in 
minute  fragments.  This  had  the  desired 
effect,  and  no  saloon  was  started  in  the  town 
again  for  many  years.  A  man  by  name  of 
Rhodes  was  an  early  merchant  and  sold  goods 
i  1  a  little  building  which  stood  on  the  corner 
where  Hicks'  store  now  stands.  John  Hig- 
gins  was  an  early  merchant  also;  be  occupied 
the  building  in  which  Inman's  store  was  kept 
and  continued  in  the  business  about  two 
years.  The  Preston  brothers  came  in  about 
the  year  1855,  and  erected  a  large  business 
house  on  the  corner  of  Market  and  Main 
streets,  which  they  stocked  with  goods  to  the 
amount  of  §10,000.  At  one  time  they  did  as 
much,  if  not  more  business  than  anv  other 
firm  in  the  county,  and  accumulated  consid 
erable  wealth  during  their  stay  in  the  village. 
"Jack  "  Hasket  succeeded  them  in  the  year 
1861,  and  continued  the  business  until  1870, 
when  be  sold  out  to  Miller  &  Paiker.  The 
firm  was  afterward  changed  to  Parker  & 
Kid  well  and  the  store  moved  to  the  village 
of  Oblong.  At  the  present  time  there  is  but 
one  store  in  the  place.  It  is  kept  by  G.  B. 
Hicks  in  a  large  frame  building  which  was 
erected  by  William  F.  Bottoms  in  the  year 
187^. 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


201 


The   Hardinsville   Lodge  No.   75G  A.  F.  & 

A.  .\I.  was  organized  October,  187S,  with  the 
lollovvinsf  cliaiter  members:  William  Dvar, 
Green  B.  Hicks,  Robert  E.  Haskins,  .John 
Mulvean,  John  M.  Donnell,  John  E.  Cullom, 
Fay  K.  Wallar,  James  Shipman,  Mills  Hughes, 
Joseph  C.  Hughes  and  Tliomas  H.  Haskins. 
The  first  officers  were  William  Dj'ar,  W.  M; 
G.  B.  Hicks,  S.  W.;  and  Robert  E.  Haskins, 
J.  W.  The  officers  in  charge  at  the  present 
time  are,  John  Mulvean,  W.  M.;  John  M. 
Donnell,  S.  W.;  James  Shipman,  J.  W.;  G. 

B.  Hicks,  S.  D.;  Mills  Hughes,  Treas.;  C.  J. 
Price,  Sect.;    C.    P.    Carlton,  J.  D.     Present 


membership    about    twelve.      Meetings   are 
held  in  hall  over  G.  B.  Hicks'  store. 

In  the  year  1855  a  small  village  was  laid 
out  in  the  western  part  of  the  township  by 
Andrew  Nichols,  and  named  Freeport.  For 
several  years  it  was  considered  a  very  good 
trading  point  and  supported  two  good  stores, 
one  mill  and  a  blacksmith  shop.  These  in 
time  disappeared,  and  a  general  decay  fast- 
ened itself  upon  the  once  promising  town. 
At  the  present  time  nothing  remains  of  the 
village  save  a  few  dismantled  and  dilapidated 
dwellings. 


CHAPTEE    XYIII. 


HONEY  CREEK  TOWNSHIP— DESCRIPTION   AND   TOPOGRAPHY— ADVENT   OF  THE    PALE- 
FACES, AND  THEIR  EARLY  STRUGGLES— PIONEER  IMPROVEMENTS— RELIG- 
IOUS HISTORY— AN  INCIDENT— SCHOOLS  AND  SOUltoL-HOUSES— 
VILLAGES— PARTING  WORDS,   ETC.,    ETC. 


"  The  rank  thistle  nodded  in  the  wind,  and  the 
wild  fox  dug  his  hole  unscared." — Sprague. 

HONEY  CREEK  Township,  though  an 
early-settled  portion  of  the  county,  has 
advanced  very  little  in  some  directions 
and  its  citizens  of  to-day  stand  where 
their  fathers  stood  fifty  years  or  more 
ago,  clinging  with  a  wonderful  tenacity 
to  the  relics  of  a  bj'-gone  period.  Here  we 
still  find  the  primitive  log  cabin,  together 
with  many  of  those  pioneer  customs  and 
habits,  which  the  few  old  grandfathers  and 
grandmothers  yet  living  delight  to  dwell 
upon. 

Much  of  the  land  in  Honey  Creek  Town- 
ship is  of  a  rather  inferior  quality,  as  com- 
pared to  other  of  the  county.  It  is  mostly 
timbered  land  and  a  good  deal  of  it  seems  to 
be  a  kind  of  oak  flat  with  a  light,  thin  soil. 
There  is,  however,  some  very  good  land  in 
the  township,  but  that  of  a  poorer  quality 
largely  predominates.  The  original  timber 
growth  consisted  of  several  kinds  of  oak, 
hickory,  elm,  gum,  maple,  walnut,  etc.,  with 
a  few  other  trees  and  shrubs  indigenous  to 
this  section.  The  Embarras  River  just  barely 
touches  the  southwest  corner  of  the  township, 
Honey  Creek  flows  through  the  northwest 
corner,  and  Brush  and  Sugar  Creeks  through 
the  southeast  portion.  These,  with  a  few 
other  smaller  and  nameless  streams,  constitute 
its  system  of  natural  drainage.     Honey  Creek 

*  By  W.  H.  Perrin. 


is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Robinson  Town- 
ship, on  the  east  by  Montgomery  Township, 
on  the  south  by  Lawrence  County,  and  on 
the  west  by  Martin  and  Southwest  Townships. 
The  Wabash  railroad  passes  along  the  town- 
ship line,  and  has  improved  the  country  to 
some  extent.  Several  villages  have  sprung 
up  since  the  construction  of  the  road,  which 
have  added  their  mile  to  the  growth  and 
prosperity  of  the  surrounding  country,  but 
there  still  remains  vast  room  lor  improvement 
and  enterprise. 

Before  the  war-whoop  of  the  savage  had 
died  away,  the  pale-faced  pioneers  were  com- 
ing into  this  portion  of  the  county.  The  first 
white  men  who  located  here  were  John  and 
Samuel  Parker,  in  181t>.  They  were  genuine 
pioneers,  and  of  that  character  of  men  who 
were  fully  able  to  cope  with  privation,  and 
with  danger  in  any  form.  John  and  George 
Parker,  now  living  in  this  township,  are  de- 
scendants of  these  hardy  old  frontiersman. 
John  and  George  Parker  came  to  the  town- 
ship in  1830,  from  Kentucky,  and  settled  on 
the  "range  road,"  near  the  present  village  of 
Flat  Rock.  They  are  of  the  true  pioneer 
stock,  like  their  progenitors,  and  are  scarcely 
alive  to  and  up  with  the  age  of  improvement 
in  which  they  live. 

About  the  time  John  and  George  Parker 
came  the  settlement  was  further  augmented 
by  the  arrival  of  the  following  families:  The 
Seaney  family,  Seth  and  Levi  Lee,  Jesse  and 
James  Higgins,  John  Hart  and  Wm.  Carter. 


HISTORY   OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


203 


These  settlements  were  made  about  the  time 
the  land  office  was  established  at  Palestine. 
After  this  there  was  quite  a  cessation  in  the 
arrival  of  emijvrants,  and  several  years 
elap-^ed  before  vvc  hear  of  any  more  new- 
comers to  this  immediate   vicinity. 

Aaron  Jones  settled  here  about  183'2.  He 
was  originally  from  Vir<)-ini^  but  settled  in 
Buller  County,  Ohio,  and  ^Ifew  years  later 
came  to  this  county.  He  died  in  18G1,  and 
his  wife  soon  after  followed  him  to  the  land 
of  rest.  Mr.  Jones  made  his  trip  from  Butler 
County,  Ohio,  with  wagons  and  teams.  The 
country  was  then  very  wild,  and  much  of  the 
distance  was  along  Indian  trails,  and  paths 
beaten  down  by  hunters  and  emigrants, 
who  had  preceded  him.  Indianapolis  was  a 
strasfflinsr  villaffe  of  a  few  rude  cabins,  and 
the  country  for  miles  and  miles  was  without 
a  single  habitation.  Robinson  had  not  yet 
arisen  from  the  hazel  thickets  and  prairie 
grass,  and  the  phase  of  the  country  generally 
was  not  inviting  by  any  manner  of  means. 

The  first  land  entered  west  of  the  range 
road —  a  road  running  from  Mt.  Carmel  to  Chi- 
cago, was  entered  b}'  Asa  Jones,  a  brother 
of  Mr.  J.  M.  Jones.  About  the  time  he 
made  his  entry,  one  .Tacob  Blaythe  wanted 
to  enter  a  piece  of  land,  and  being  unable 
to  distinguish  the  corner,  cut  the  num- 
ber of  the  land  from  a  tree,  and  carried  the 
block  to  the  land-office  at  Palestine.  Rich- 
ard Highsmith  now  living  in  Honey  Creek 
assisted  to  build  the  fort  at  Russelville,  and 
was  one  of  the  first  who  slept  in  it  after  its 
completion. 

Another  early  settler  was  Leonard  Simons. 
He  came  from  Tennessee,  and  located  first  at 
Palestine,  in  the  days  when  the  people  found 
it  conducive  to  longevity  to  live  in  forts.  Af- 
terward he  settled  in  this  township.  He 
died  in  the  county  aliout  1875,  at  an  ad- 
vanced age.  Samuel  Bussard  came  originally 
from  Maryland,   but    stopped    for  a  time    in 


Ohio,  and  came  from  the  Buckeye  State  to 
this  county,  and  settled  where  his  son  now 
lives.  He  raised  a  large  family  of  children, 
and  died  some  tvrenty-five  years  ago.  Peter 
Kendall,  from  Kentucky,  settled  where  John 
Parker  now  lives.  He  moved  away  some 
years  ago.  Robert  Terrill,  also  from  Ken- 
tucky, settled  in  IS-tS,  and  lives  now  in  Flat 
Rock.  There  were  many  other  pioneers  who 
deserve  a  place  in  these  pages,  perhaps,  but 
we  failed  to  obtain  their  names. 

Wolves,  panthers,  wild-cats,  deer,  etc.,  etc., 
were  here  in  the  most  plentiful  profusion 
when  the  first  settlements  were  made.  The 
rifle  of  the  pioneer  supplied  his  larder  with 
meat,  but  bread  was  not  so  easily  obtained. 
Wolves  and  other  ravenuous  beasts  rendered 
the  rearing  of  hogs  and  sheep  a  very  uncer- 
tain business  for  a  number  of  years — in  fact, 
until  the  country  was  somewhat  rid  of  the 
troublesome  animals.  Milling  is  usually  a 
serious  task  to  the  early  settler  in  a  \^ld 
country,  and  in  the  settlement  of  Honey 
Creek,  the  people  went  to  Palestine  and  other 
places  until  they  had  mills  built  in  their  own 
neighborhood.  The  first  roads  were  merely 
trails  through  the  forest.  These  were  cut 
out  and  improved  as  population  increased 
and  demanded  more  and  better  highways. 

Silas  Tyler,  of  this  township,  is  the  oldest 
freemason  in  the  county,  or  perhaps  in  the 
State.  He  was  initiated  in  the  ancient  and 
honorable  fraternity  in  1818,  in  the  State  of 
New  York,  being  at  the  time  22  j'ears  of  age. 
He  afterward  served  as  master  of  the  lodge 
in  which  he  took  his  degrees.  Mr.  Tyler, 
though  not  as  early  a  settler  of  the  township 
as  some  others,  is  certainly  as  early  a  mason. 
He  was  in  his  masonic  prime  at  the  time  of 
the  Morgan  excitement,  and  remembers 
something  of  that  stormy  period  to  the  fra- 
ternity. 

Of  the  first  school-house  in  Honey  Creek 
township,  and  the   fi'-st  teacher,  but  little  was 


204 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


learned.  The  first  sc}iools  here,  as  in  other 
parts  of  the  county,  were  tauc^ht  in  any  cabin 
which  mioht  happen  to  be  vacant.  The  first 
school-houses  were  built  of  logs,  after  the 
regular  pioneer  pattern,  and  the  first  teachers 
■were  as  primitive  as  the  buildings  in  which 
they  wielded  their  brief  authority.  The 
townsiiip  is  now  very  well  supplied  with 
temples  of  learning,  in  which  good  schools 
are  taught  for  the  usual  term  each  year. 

Relio-ious  meetings  were  held  in  the 
pioneer  settlements  of  this  section,  almost  as 
early  as  the  settlements  were  made.  The 
first  meetings  of  which  we  have  any  reliable 
account  were  held  in  the  old  Lamotte  school- 
house,  and  the  first  sermon  in  the  township  is 
supposed  to  have  been  preached  by  Elder 
Daniel  Parker,  of  whom  reference  has  been 
made  in  preceding  chapters,  and  who  was 
of  the  "Hardshell"  Baptist  persuasion.  He 
was  one  of  the  early  ministers,  not  only  of 
thia  but  of  the  surrounding  counties,  and 
■was  considered  a  powerful  preacher  in  his 
day.  It  is  told  of  him,  that  he  would  never 
accept  pecuniary  compensation  for  his  minis- 
terial labors,  but  deemed  it  his  duty  to  preach 
salvation  to  a  "  lost  and  ruined  world,"  with- 
out money  and  without  price.  In  this  he 
differed  from  his  clerical  brethren  of  the 
present  day.  Mr.  Seaney  relates  the  follow- 
inn-  incident  of  one  of  Elder  Parker's  meet- 
ings: Mr.  Seaney  started  out  one  Sunday 
morning  to  look  for  some  calves  that  had 
strayed  away  from  him,  when  upon  nearing 
a  church  or  school-house,  he  encountered  a 
group  of  young  men,  barefooted,  dressed  in 
leather  breeches  and  tow-linen  shirts.  They 
were  patiently  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the 
minister,  and  whiling  away  the  time  in  "  cast- 
ing sheep's  eyes  "  at  a  bevy  of  young  ladies 
who  had  just  arrived  upon  the  scene,  gor- 
geous in  "sun-bonnets  and  barefooted."  This 
seems  on  a  par  with  the  costume  of  the  Geor- 
gia major,  which,  we  are  told,  consisted  of   a 


paper  collar  and  a  pair  of  spurs,  but  whether 
this  was  the  extent  of  the  young  ladies'  ward- 
robe or  not  we  can  not  say,  but  no  other  ar- 
ticles of  wearing  apparel  were  mentioned. 
The  preacher  finally  made  his  appearance, 
clad,  not  like  John  the  Forerunner,  with  "a 
leathern  girdle  about  his  loins,"  but  in  a  full 
suit  of  leather.  He  walked  straight  into  the 
house,  and  as  he'flid  so  he  hauled  off  his  old 
leather  coat  and  threw  it  upon  the  floor. 
Then  after  singing  a  hime  and  making  a 
prayer,  he  straightened  himself,  and  for  two 
mortal  hours  he  poured  hot  shot  into  "  the 
wor  Id,  the  flesh  and  the  devil."  John  Parken 
a  brother  of  Daniel  Parker,  was  a  preacher 
of  the  same  denomination,  and  used  to  hold 
forth  among  the  early  settlers  in  their  cabins, 
and  at  a  Ifiter  date  in  the  school-houses. 
Thomas  Kennedy,  well  known  as  one  of  the 
early  county  officers,  was  also  a  pioneer  Bap- 
tist preacher. 

Bethel  Presbyterian  Church  was  organizsd 
m  1853,  by  Rev.  Joseph  Butler.  Among  the 
early  members  were  A.  D.  Delzell,  Mrs.  M. 
E.  Delz  11,  Wm.  Delz-11,  Mrs.  M.  J.  Delzell, 
L.  B.  Delzell,  John  Duncan  and  Mrs.  S.  M. 
Duncan.  Rev.  Butler  visited  them  a  few 
times  and  then  left  the  society  to  die,  which 
it  lost  but  little  time  in  doing.  Some  of  the 
members  united  with  the  church  at  Palestine 
and  some  aided  in  founding  the  church  at 
Beckwith  prairie  a  few  years  later. 

Beckwith  Prairie  Presbyterian  Church  was 
oro-anized  bv  Revs.  E.  Howell  and  Allen  Mc- 
Farland,  and  Elder  Finley  Paul,  with  twenty- 
eifht  members,  mostly  from  Old  Bethel  church 
above  described.  The  first  elders  were  James 
Richey,  Samuel  J.  Gould  and  Wm.  Delzell. 
The  ministers,  since  its  organization,  have 
been  Revs.  A.  McFarland,  J.  C.  Thornton, 
Aaron  Thompson,  Thos.  Spencer  and  John  E. 
Carson.  The  house  of  worship,  a  neat  white 
frame,  was  erected  in  1859,  at  a  cost  of  §1,:300, 
and  stands  on  the  southeast  quarter  of  section 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFOED  COUNTY. 


205 


23,  one  mile  from  Duncanville,  in  a  southwest 
direction. 

Good  Hope  Biiptist  Church  was  organized 
in  a  very  early  day.  Anioni);  the  earlj-  mem- 
bers were  George  Parker,  Hiram  Jones,  Sam- 
son Taylor  and  wile,  W.  F.  Allen,  Wm.  Croy, 
S.  Goff  and  Wm.  Carter.  The  first  church 
was  a  log  building,  erected  .about  1848.  The 
present  church  is  a  handsome  frame  recently 
completed,  and  the  membership  is  in  a  flour- 
ishing condition,  and  numliers  about  eighty, 
under  the  pastorate  of  Elder  John  L.  Cox. 
A  good  Sunday-school  is  carried  on,  of  which 
Hiram  Jones  is  the  present  superintendent. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  church  at  Flat 
Rock  was  built  about  the  year  1871.  They 
had  previously  held  meetings  a  half  mile  south 
of  the  village  near  James  Shaw's.  We  failed 
to  receive  full  particulars  of  this  church. 

The  United  Brethren  church  at  New  He- 
bron was  built  in  1855-56  by  individual  sub- 
scription. Rev.  Mr.  Jackson  was  among  the 
first  ministers.  Before  the  erection  of  the 
church,  meetings  were  held  in  the  school- 
houses  throughout  the  neighborhood,  and 
were  participated  in  by  all  denominations — 
the  Methodists  at  that  time  being  the  most 
numerous.  Samuel  Bussard  and  the  Gear 
family  were  among  the  early  members  of  the 
church.  A  Methodist  Episcopal  church  was 
organized  here  about  the  time  the  buildino- 
was  erected,  but  the  exact  date  was  not  ob- 
tained. From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
people  of  Honey  Creek  Township  have  never 
lacked  for  church  privileges.  If  they  are  not 
religious,  it  is  certainly  their  own  fault,  and 
they  can  blame  none  but  themselves  for  any 
shortcoming  charged  to  their  account. 

Villaffes. — The  township  can  boast  of 
several  villages,  but  all  of  them  are  rather 
small,  and  have  sprung  up  mostly  since  the 
building  of  the  railroad.  Hebron,  or  New 
Hebron,  as  it  is  now  called,  is  an  exception. 
It  was  laid  out  in  July,  1840,  by  Nelson  Haw- 


ley,  and  is  located  on  section  31  of  township 
6  north,  range  12  west,  or  Honey  Creek  Town- 
ship, and  was  surveyed  and  platted  by  Wm. 
B.  Baker,  the  official  surveyor  of  the  county. 
The  land  was  entered  by  Dr.  Hawley  in  1839 
and  the  year  following  he  laid  out  the  town. 
He  practiced  medicine  in  the  neighborhood 
until  1850,  or  thereabout,  when  he  opened  a 
store  in  Hebron,  the  first  effort  at  merchan- 
dizing in  the  place.  He  was  from  Ohio,  and 
was  a  local  preacher,  as  well  as  a  physician, 
and  administered  to  the  soul's  comforts  as  well 
as  to  the  body's  infirmities.  After  establish- 
ing a  store  at  Hebron,  he  ceased  the  practice 
of  medicine  except  in  cases  of  emergency, 
when  he  was  found  always  ready  to  lend  his 
assistance  in  relieving  suffering  humanity. 
He  eventually  moved  to  OIney,  where  he  de- 
voted his  time  wholly  to  the  ministry.  He 
was  the  first  postmaster  at  Hebron,  as  well 
as  the  first  merchant  and  phvsician. 

Leonard  Cullom  opened  a  store  in  the  old 
Hawley  building  after  Hawley  had  moved  to 
Olney.  Cullom  came  to  the  county  when  a 
boy  and  lived  for  a  time  in  old  Fort  Lamotte. 
He  remained  in  business  in  Hebron  but  a 
short  time,  when  he  moved  his  goods  back  to 
Palestine.  A  man  named  Newton  was  the 
next  merchant,  and  about  ISGO  John  Haley 
opened  a  store.  He  has  been  in  business 
here  ever  since.  He  keeps  both  the  hotel  and 
store,  and  is  also  the  present  postmaster. 

The  first  house  in  New  Hebron  was  built 
by  Thomas  Swearingen.  A  tread-wheel  mill 
was  built  by  Dr.  Hawley  at  an  early  day,  most 
probably  the  first  mill  in  the  township.  It 
was  afterward  converted  into  a  steam-mill;  a 
saw-mill  now  forms  a  part  of  it.  The  boards 
for  the  original  mill  were  all  sawed  out  with 
whip-saws.  Hezekiah  Bussard  was  the  first 
blacksmith;  Wm.  Gates  was  the  next,  and  J. 
S.  Bussard  and  S.  H.  Preston  now  follow  the 
same  business. 

A  school-house,    the  first  built   in  Hebron. 


206 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


■was  erected  about  the  year  1S4"2,  and  has  long 
since  passed  away.  It  was  constructed  of 
logs  and  was  used  for  all  purposes.  A  brick 
school-house  was  built  to  take  its  place,  about 
1858,  situated  in  the  south  part  of  the  town. 
It  is  also  gone,  and  the  neat  frame  was 
built  about  ten  years  ago. 

The  village  of  Flat  Rock  was  laid  out  April 
20,  1876,  by  J.  W.  Jones.  It  is  the  old  town 
of  Flat  Rock  somewhat  modified,  and  moved 
to  the  railroad.  It  is  situated  on  the  east 
half  of  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  6, 
township  5  north,  range  11  west,  and  was  sur- 
veyed by  John  Waterhouse  for  the  proprie- 
tor. The  first  merchant  was  J.  W.  Jones,  who 
kept  a  grocery  store  and  sold  whisky.  He 
commenced  business  in  a  small  way,  and  has 
been  very  successful.  In  1876  he  built  a 
large  store-house,  fronting  the  railroad,  where 
he  still  does  a  prosperous  business.  S.  P. 
Duff  was  the  second  merchant,  and  started  a 
store  soon  after  the  railroad  was  built.  To 
sum  up  his  history  as  it  was  given  to  us — he 
eloped  with  a  neighbor's  wife,  and  his  store 
was  closed  out  by  creditors.  I.  Golf  next 
started  a  dry  goods  store,  but  did  not  continue 
long  in  the  business,  when  he  closed  out  and 
rented  his  store-house  to  J.  W.  Jones.  Dr. 
A.  L.  Malone  established  the  next  store,  but 
after  operating  ic  a  short  time  removed  his 
stock  to  Palestine. 

A  drug  store  was  established  in  Flat  Rock 
by  Dr.  H.  Jenner  and  S.  R.  Ford.  James 
Kirker  had  started  a  drug  store  sometime 
previously,  and  sold  out  to  Jenner  and  Ford, 
who  continued  about  eighteen  months,  when 
they  sold  out  to  Bristow  &  Barton ;  the 
latter  sold  to  A.  W.  Duncan  who  still  carries 
on  the  business.  Other  lines  of  business  have 
been  opened,  and  Flat  Rock  is  jus  ly  con- 
sidered one  of  the  best  trading  points  in  the 
county.  A  masonic  lodge  has  been  organized 
in  the  village,  but  of  its  history  we  failed  to 
learn  any  particulars. 


Duncansville  is  located  on  the  northeast 
quarter  of  the  northwest  quarter  of  section 
24,  township  6  north,  range  12  west,  and  was 
laid  out  September  6,  1876,  for  R.  N.  Dun- 
can, the  owner  of  the  land.  Its  existence  may 
be  accredited  to  the  building  of  the  railroad, 
as  its  birth  has  been  subsequent  to  the  com- 
pletion of  the  road.  The  first  store  was  kept 
by  T.  L.  Nichols.  He  was  succeeded  by  A. 
S.  Maxwell,  who  is  still  merchandizing  in  the 
place,  and  doing  a  thriving  business.  A  saw- 
mill, with  a  shop  or  two,  and  a  few  resi- 
dences constitute  all  there  is  of  the  town. 

Port  Jackson  is  situated  on  the  Embarras 
river  about  ten  miles  south  of  Robinson.  It 
was  laid  out  May  22,  1853,  by  Samuel  Hanes, 
and  years  ago,  was  a  place  of  some  impor- 
tance, a  point  from  whence  shipping  by  flat- 
boats  on  the  Embarras  River  was  carried  on 
to  a  considerable  extent.  Hanes  built  a  mill 
here  and  opened  a  store,  and  did  a  rather 
lucrative  business  for  several  years.  A  dis- 
tillery was  built  and  operated  until  the  be- 
ginning of  the  war.  Hanes  finally  moved 
away,  and  the  town  went  down.  The  build- 
insr  of  the  railroad,  and  the  laying  out  of 
other  towns,  has  buried  Port  Jackson  beyond 
the  hope  of  resurrection. 

Parting  IVoi'ds. — This  brings  us  to  the 
close  of  the  first  part  of  this  volume,  the  con- 
clusion of  the  history  of  Crawford  County. 

"  How  dull  it  is  to  pause,  to  make  an  end, 
To  rust  unburnished,  not  to  shine  in  use  ! 
As  though  to  breathe  were  life." 

The  writer  has  appeared  in  the  roll  of  his- 
torian to  this  community  probably  for  the  last 
time.  The  task  of  rescuing  from  oblivion  the 
annals  of  the  county,  and  of  preserving  on 
record  the  deeds  of  the  pioneers  who  have 
made  it  what  it  is,  though  an  onerous,  has 
been  a  pleasant  one,  as  well  from  a  love  of 
the  work,  as  that  he  once  considered  himself 
a  part — though  a  very  small  one — of  the 
county.     That  he  has  been  permitted    to  dis- 


'ctk/ 


HISTORY  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 


209 


charge  this  duty  affords  him  no  little  satis- 
faction. While  the  work  may  be  somewhat 
imperfect  in  minor  details,  it  is  believed  to  be, 
on  the  whole,  substantially  correct.  And  now 
that  it  is  fitiished,  the  writer  strikes  hands 
with  the  old  pioneers,  with  whom  his  stay  has 
been  so  pleasant,  and  with  his  many  friends 
throughout  the  county,  with  a  kind  of  mourn- 
ful and   melancholy  pleasure,    conscious  that 


their  next  meeting  will  be  beyond  the  beauti- 
ful river,  for  the  pioneers  still  left,  who  con- 
stituted the  advance  guard — the  forlorn  hope 
of  civilization  in  the  Wabash  Valley,  must 
pass  to  that  "  bourne  whence  no  traveler 
returns."  It  is  not  probable,  then,  that  we  shall 
meet  again,  and  the  writer  with  many  kind 
remembrances  of  the  people  of  Crawford 
County,  bids  them — farewell. 


PART  11. 


HISTORY  OF  CLARK  COUNTY. 


CHAPTER  I* 

GENERAL  DESCRIPTION  OP  CLARK  COUNTY— TOPOGRAPHY   AND  PHYSICAL  FEATURES- 
GEOLOGY— COAL   MEASURES— THE   STORY  OF  THE  ROCKS-BUILDING  STONE- 
SOILS,  TIMBER   AND  PRODUCTIONS— ARTESIAN  WELL— THE   MOUND 
BUILDERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS— INDIAN  RELICS,  ETC.,  ETC. 


"  Ye  mouklering  relics  of  departed  years, 
Your  names  have  perished;  not  a  trace  remains,"  etc. 

CLARK  County,  originally,  was  diversified 
between  woodland  and  prairie.  It  is  situ- 
ated on  the  eastern  border  of  the  State,  and  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  Edgar  and  Coles 
Counties,  on  the  east  by  the  Indiana  line  and 
tlie  Wabash  River,  on  the  south  by  Crawford, 
and  on  the  west  by  Cumberland  and  Coles 
Counties.  It  contains  ten  full  and  eight  frac- 
tional townships,  making  a  total  area  of  about 
five  hundred  and  thirteen  square  miles.  The 
surface  of  the  country  in  the  western  portion 
of  the  county  is  generally  rolling,  though 
some  of  the  prairies  are  rather  Hat.  The 
eastern  portion  is  much  more  broken,  especial- 
ly in  the  vicinity  of  the  Wabash  bluffs,  where 
it  becomes  quite  hilly  and  is  often  broken  into 
steep  ridges  along  the  courses  of  the  small 
streams.  The  general  level  of  the  surface  of 
the    highlands   above   the   railroad  at    Terre 

*  The  succeeding'  chapters  on  the  county  at  large, 
have  been  written  and  prepared  by  Hamilton  Sutton, 
Esq.,  for  this  volume. — Ed.] 


Haute,  which  is  a  few  feet  above  the  level  of 
high  water  in  the  Wabash,  is  from  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  to  one  hundred  and 
fifty  feet.  The  principal  streams  in  the  west- 
ern part  of  the  county  are  North  Fork  (of  the 
Embarras)  which  flows  from  north  to  south, 
and  empties  in  the  Embarras  River  in  the 
eastern  part  of  .lasper  County;  and  Hurricane 
Creek,  which  rises  in  the  south  part  of  Edgar 
County,  and  after  a  general  course  of  south 
twenty  degrees  east,  discharges  its  waters  into 
the  Wabash  River  near  the  southeast  corner  of 
the  county.  In  the  eastern  part  of  the  county, 
Big  Creek,  and  two  or  three  of  less  note,  after 
a  general  southeast  course  in  this  county, 
empty  into  the  Wabash  River.  The  North 
Fork,  throughout  nearly  its  whole  course,  runs 
through  a  broad,  flat  valley,  affording  no  ex- 
posures of  the  underlying  rocks,  and  the  bluffs 
on  either  side  are  composed  of  drift  clays,  and 
rise  from  thirty  to  fifty  feet  or  more  above  the 
valley,  and  at  several  points  where  wells  have 
been  sunk,  these  clays  and  underlying  quick- 
sands are  found  to  extend  to  an  equal  depth 
beneath  the  bed  of  the  stream.      The  creeks 


HISTORY  OF  CLARK  COUNTY. 


211 


ill  the  eastern  portion  of  the  county  are 
skirted  by  bluffs  of  rock  throup,-h  some  por- 
tion of  their  courses,  and  afford  a  better 
opportunit}'  for  determining  the  geological 
structure  of  the  county. 

Geology.* — The    quarternary    system    is 
represented   in   this    county  by  the    alluvial 
deposits    of  the  river  and  creek  valleys,  the 
Loess  of  the  Wabash  bluffs,  the  gravelly  clays 
and  hard-pan  of  the  true  drift,  and  the  under- 
lying   stratified    sands    that   are    sometimes 
found  immediately  above  the  bed  rock.     The 
drift  deposits  proper  vary  in  thickness  from 
twenty  to  seventy-five  feet  or  more,  the  upper 
portion   being  usually  a  yellow  gravelly  clay 
with   local    beds   or   pockets   of   sand.     The 
lower  division  is  mainly  composed  of  a  bluish- 
eray  hard-pan,  exceedingly  tough  and  hard  to 
penetrate,   usually  impervious  to  water,  and 
from  thirty  to  fifty  feet  in  thickness.     This  is 
underlaid  by  a  few  feet  of  sand,   from   which 
an    abundant   supply    of   water   can  be  had 
when    it  can  not  be   found  at  a  higher  level. 
A  common  method  of  obtaining  water  on  the 
highlands   of  this  county,  where  a   sufficient 
supply   is   not  found  in  the  upper  portion  of 
the  drift,  is  to  sink  a  well  into  the  hard-pan, 
and   then    bore  through    that  deposit    to    the 
quicksand  below,  where  an  unfailing  sup|)ly  is 
usually  obtained.     Bowlders  of  granite,   sye- 
nite, trap,  )orphyry,  quartzite,  etc.,  many  of 
them  of  large  size,  are  abundant  in  the  drift 
deposits  of  this  county,  and  nuggets  of  native 
copper  and  galena  are  occasionally  met  with, 
having  been  transported  along  with  the  more 
massive  bowlders,  by  the  floating  ice,  which 
seems  to  have   been    the    main    transporting 
agency  of  our  drift  deposits. 

Coal 3feasures. — All  the  rocks  found  in  this 
county  belong  to  the  Coal  Measures,  and 
include  all  the  beds  from  the  limestone  th.it  lies 
about  ?5  feet  above  Coal  No.  7,  to  the  sand- 

*  State  geological  sm-vey. 


stone  above  the  Quarry  Creek  limestone,  and 
possibly  Coal  No.  14  of  the  general   section. 
These  beds  are  all   above  the  main  workable 
coals,  and  although  they  include  a  total  thick- 
ness of  about  400  feet,  and  the  horizon  of  five 
or  six  coal  seams,  yet  none  of  them  have  been 
found  in  this  county   more   than  from  twelve 
to  eighteen  inches  in  thickness.     In  the  north- 
west part  of  the   county  several  borings  were 
made  for  oil  during  the  oil  excitement,  some 
of  which  were  reported  to  be  over  000  feet  in 
depth;  but  as  no  accurate   record^  seems  to 
have  been  kept,  the  expenditure  resulted  in 
no  general  benefit  further  than   to  determine 
that  no  deposits  of  oil  of  any  value  existed  in 
the  vicinity  at  the    depth    penetrated.     The 
following  record  of  the  "old  well,"  or  "T.  R. 
Young  Well,"  was  furnished  to  Prof.  Cox  by 
Mr.  Lindsey  :  Soil    and    drift  clay,   23  feet; 
hard-pan,  .30  feet;  sandstone,  20  feet;  mud- 
stone,    20    feet;  coal  and  bituminous  shale,  3 
feet;    sandstone,  23  feet;    coal,  1  foot;    sand- 
stone, 5  feet;  clay  shale — soapstone,  so-called, 
23  feet;  blackshale,  9  feet;  sandstone,  12  feet; 
coal,  1  foot;  sandstone,  90  feet;  mudstone,  2 
feet;  hard-rock,  1    foot;   sandstone,  52  feet. 
The  upper   part  of  this  boring    corresponds 
very  well  with  our  general  section,  except  in 
the  absence  of  the  Quarry  Creek   limestone, 
which    should    have    been    found  where  they 
report  20  feet  of  "  mud-stone,"  but  whatever 
that  may  have  been,  it  seems  hardly  probable 
that  such  a  terra  would  be  used  to  designate 
a  hard  and   tolerably   pure  limestone.      This 
well  was  tubed  with  gas-pipe  for  some   eight 
or  ten  feet  above  the  surface,  and  water,  gas, 
and  about  half  a  gallon  of  oil,  per  day,   were 
discharged.     All  the   wells,  so  far  as  I  could 
learn,  discharged  water  at  the  surface,  show- 
inn-    that    artesian    water   could   be    readily 
obtained   here,    but   it  was  all  more   or  less 
impregnated    with    mineral  matters  and    oil, 
sufficient  to  render  it  unfit  for.  common  use. 


212 


HISTOUY   OF  CLARK  COUNTY. 


TliG  900-i'oot  well  must  have  been  carried 
quite  through  the  Coal  Measures,  and  if  an 
accurate  journal  had  been  kept,  the  int'orma- 
tion  it  would  have  afforded  would  have  been 
of  great  value  to  the  people  of  this  as  well  as 
of  the  adjacent  counties.  It  would  have  gone 
far  toward  settling  the  question  as  to  the 
number  and  thickness  of  the  workable  coals 
for  all  this  portion  of  the  State  and  the  depth 
at  which  they  could  be  reached  from  certain 
specified  horizons,  as,  for  instance,  from  the 
base  of  the  Quarry  Creek  or  Livingston  lime- 
stones, or  from  either  one  of  their  coals  of  the 
upper  measures  that  were  passed  through  in 
this  boring.  As  it  is,  the  expenditure  was 
an  utter  waste  of  capital,  except  in  so  far  as 
it  may  have  taught  those  directly  engaged  in 
the  operation  the  folly  of  boring  for  oil  where 
there  was  no  reasonable  expectation  of  find- 
ing it  in  quantities  sufficient  to  justify  such 
an  expenditure  of  time  and  money. 

The  beds  forming  the  upper  part  of  the 
general  section  in  this  county  are  exposed  on 
Quarry  Creek  south  of  Casey  and  one  mile 
and  a  half  east  of  Martinsville,  on  the  upper 
course  of  Hurricane  Creek,  and  the  Blackburn 
branch  southeast  of  Parker  prairie.  At  the 
quarry  a  mile  and  a  half  east  of  Martinsville, 
the  limestone  is  heavy-Iiedded,  and  has  been 
extensively  quarried  for  bridge  abutments, 
culverts,  etc.,  on  the  old  National  Road.  The 
bed  is  not  fully  exposed  here,  and  seems  to 
be  somewhat  thinner  than  at  Quarry  Creek, 
where  it  probably  attains  its  maximum  thick- 
ness, but  thins  out  both  to  the  northeast  and 
southwest  from  that  point.  The  upper  part 
of  the  bed  is  generally  quite  massive,  afford- 
ing beds  two  feet  or  more  in  thickness,  while 
the  lower  beds  are  thinner,  and  at  the  base  it 
becomes  shaly,  and  locally  passes  into  a  green 
clay  with  thin  plates  and  nodules  of  limestone. 
These  shaly  layers  afford  many  fine  fossils  in 
a  very  perfect  state  of  preservation,  though 
they  are  neither  as  numerous  nor  as  well  pre- 


served here  as  at  the  outcrops  of  this  lime- 
stone in  Edgar  County.  Possibly  the  appar- 
ent thinning  out  of  this  limestone  to  the 
northward  in  this  county  may  be  due  to  sur- 
face erosion,  as  we  nowhere  saw  the  overlay- 
ing sandstone  in  situ,  and  Prof.  Bradley  gives 
the  thickness  of  this  bed  in  Edgar  County  as 
above  25  feet,  which  does  not  indicate  a  very 
decided  diminution  of  its  thickness  in  a  north- 
easterly direction.  Below  this  limestone,  in 
the  vicinity  of  Martinsville,  there  are  partial 
outcrops  of  shale  and  thin-bedded  sandstone, 
with  a  thin  coal,  probably  No.  4  of  the  pre- 
ceding section,  and  southwest  of  the  town 
and  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  it 
there  is  a  partial  outcrop  of  the  lower  portion 
of  the  limestone  in  the  bluff  on  the  east  side 
of  the  North  Fork  valley,  where  we  obtained 
numerous  fossils  belonging  to  this  horizon. 
West  and  northwest  of  Martinsville  no  rocks 
are  exposed  in  the  bluffs  of  the  creek  for  stmu 
distance,  but  higher  up  partial  outcrops  of  a 
sandstone,  probably  overlaying  the  Quairy 
Creek  limestone  may  be  found. 

At  Quarrj'  Creek,  about  a  mile  and  a  half 
south  of  Casey,  on  section  28,  township  10, 
range  14,  this  limestone  appears  in  full  force, 
and  has  been  extensively  quarried,  both  for 
building  stone  and  the  manufacture  of  quick- 
lime. It  is  here  a  mottled-gray,  compact 
limestone,  locally  brecciated,  and  partiy  in 
regular  beds  from  six  inches  to  two  feet  or 
more  in  thickness.  At  least  25  to  30  feet  of 
limestone  is  exposed  here,  and  as  the  overly- 
ing sandstone  is  not  seen,  its  aggregate  thick- 
ness may  be  even  more  than  the  above  esti- 
mate. At  its  base  the  limestone  becomes 
thin-bedded  and  shaly,  passing  into  a  green- 
ish calcareous  shale  with  thin  plates  and  nod- 
ules of  limestone  abounding  in  the  character- 
istic fossils  of  this  horizon.  At  one  point  of 
this  creek  a  bed  of  green  shale  about  two  feet 
in  thickness  was  found  intercalated  in  the 
limestone.     A  large  amount  of  this  stone  was 


HISTORY  OF  CLARK  COUNTY. 


213 


quarried  here  for  lime,  for  macadamizing  ma- 
terial and  for  bridge  abutments  on  tne  old 
National  Road,  and  this  locality  still  furnisiies 
the  needed  supply  of  lime  and  building  stone 
for  all  the  surrounding  country.  At  the  base 
of  the  limestone  here  there  is  a  partial  ex- 
posure of  bituminous  shale  and  a  thin  coal, 
probably  representing  the  horizon  of  Xo.  4 
of  the  preceding  section,  below  which  some 
ten  or  twelve  feet  of  sandy  shale  was  seen. 

On  Hurricane  branch,  commencing  on  sec- 
tion 14,  township  10,  range  13,. and  extending 
down  the  creek  for  a  iistance  of  two  miles  or 
more,  tiiere  are  continuous  outcrops  of  sand- 
stone and  sandy  shales — No.  12  of  the  county 
section.  The  upper  portion  is  shaly  with 
some  thin-bedded  sandstone,  passing  down- 
ward into  a  massive,  partly  concretionary 
sandstone  that  forms  bold  cliffs  along  the 
banks  of  the  stream  from  twenty  to  thirty 
feet  in  height.  At  the  base  of  this  sandstone 
there  is  a  band  of  pebbly  conglomerate  from 
one  to  three  feet  in  thickness,  containing 
fragments  of  fossil  wood  in  a  partially  car- 
bonized condition,  and  mineral  charcoal.  The 
regularly  bedded  layers  of  this  sandstone  have 
been  extensively  quarried  on  this  creek  for 
the  construction  of  culverts  and  bridge  abut- 
ments in  this  vicinity,  and  the  rock  is  found 
to  harden  on  exposure,  and  proves  to  be  a 
valuable  stone  for  such  uses.  Some  of  tjie 
layers  are  of  the  proper  thickness  for  flag- 
stone, and  from  their  even  bedding  can  be 
readily  quarried  of  the  required  size  and 
thickness.  This  sandstone  is  underlaid  \)y 
an  argillaceous  shale,  and  a  black  slate  which, 
where  first  observed,  was  only  two  or  three 
inches  thick,  but  gradually  increased  down 
stream  to  a  thickness  of  about  fifteen  inches. 
The  blue  shale  above  it  contains  concretions 
of  argillaceous  limestone  with  numerous  fos- 
sils, which  indicate  the  horizon  of  No.  13 
coal,  and  in  Lawrence,  White  and  Wabash 
Counties  we  find -a  well-defined  coal  seam  as- 


sociated with  a  similar  shale  containing  the 
same  group  of  fossils,  but  possibly  belonging 
to  a  somewhat  lower  horizon. 

The  limestone  on  Joe's  Fork  are  the  equiv- 
alents of  the  Livingstone  limestone,  and 
they  pass  below  the  bed  of  the  creek  about  a 
mile  above  the  old  mill.  The  sandstone 
overlaying  the  upper  limestone  here,  when 
evenly  bedded,  is  quarried  for  building  stone, 
and  affords  a  very  good  and  durable  material 
of  this  kind  for  common*  use.  At  the  mouth 
of  Joe's  Fork  the  lower  limestone  is  partly 
below  the  creek  bed,  the  upp?r  four  feet  only 
being  visible,  and  above  it  we  find  clay  shale 
two  feet,  coal  ten  inches,  shale  five  to  six  feet, 
succeeded  by  the  upper  limestone  which  is  here 
only  three  or  four  feet  thick.  The  upper 
limestone  at  the  outcrop  here  is  thinly  and 
unevenl}'  bedded  and  weathers  to  a  rusty 
brown  color.  The  lower  limestone  is  more 
heavily  bedded,  but  splits  to  fragments  on 
exposure  to  frost  and  moisture.  It  is  of  a 
mottled  gray  color  when  freshly  broken,  Init 
weathers  to  a  yellowish-brown.  Fossils  were 
not  abundant  in  either  bed,  but  the  lower 
afforded  a  few  specimens  oiAthyris  iSubtilita, 
a  coral  like  JlcUophyllum,  Froductus  costa- 
tus  and  Terehratula  boindens.  At  Mr. 
Spangier's  place,  on  Section  Vi  in  Melrose 
Township,  a  hard  brittle,  gray  limestone  out- 
crops on  a  branch  of  Mill  Creek.  The  bed  is 
about  eight  feet  in  thickness,  and  is  under- 
laid by  a  few  feet  of  partly  bituminous  shale 
and  a  thin  coal  from  six  to  eight  inches  thick. 

The  upper  bed  of  limestone  (No.  18  of  the 
County  Section),  is  traversed  by  veins  of  cal- 
cite  and  brown  ferruginous  streaks,  that  give 
the  rock  a  mottled  appearance  when  freshly 
broken.  The  upper  layer  of  the  lower  bed  is 
about  thirty  inches  thick,  and  is  a  tough,  com- 
pact, gray  rock,  that  breaks  with  an  even 
surface  and  has  a  slightly  granular  or  semi- 
volitic  appearance.  The  lower  part  of  this 
bed  is  a  mottled  gray  fine-grained  limestone 


214 


HISTORY  OF  CLARK  COUNTY. 


and  breaks  with  a  more  or  less  conchoidal 
fracture.  The  upper  division  of  this  limestone 
thins  out  entirely  about  a  mile  above  the 
bridge,  and  passes  into  a  green  shale  like  that 
by  which  the  limestones  are  separated.  The 
tumbling  masses  of  limestone  that  are  found 
in  the  hill-tops  above  the  railroad  bridge,  no 
doubt  belong  to  the  Quarry  Creek  bed,  which 
is  found  in  partial  outcrops  not  more  than 
half  a  mile  back  from  the  creek,  and  from 
eighty  to  ninety  feet  above  its  level.  The  in- 
tervening sandstones  and  shales  which  separate 
these  limestones  in  the  northeastern  part  of 
the  county  are  much  thinner  than  where  they 
outcrop  on  Hurricane  and  Mill  Creeks  in  the 
southern  portion  indicating  a  general  thinning 
out  of  the  strata  below  the  Quarry  Creek  bed 
to  the  northward. 

The  coal  SPam  at  Murphy's  place,  near  the 
mouth  of  Ashmore  Creek,  on  Section  20,T.  11, 
R.  10,  averages  about  eighteen  inches  in  thick- 
ness and  affords  a  coal  of  fair  quality.  Trac- 
ing the  bluff  northeastwardly  from  this  point 
the  beds  rise  rapidly,  and  about  half  a  mile 
from  Murphy's  there  is  about  thirty  feet  of 
drab-colored  shales  exposed  beneath  the  lime- 
stone which  is  here  found  well  up  in  the  hill. 
At  the  foot  of  the  bluff  on  Clear  Creek,  near 
the  State  line,  a  mottled  brown  and  gray 
limestone  four  to  five  feet  in  thickness  is 
found,  underlaid  by  ten  or  twelve  feet  of  vari- 
egated shales  which  are  the  lowest  beds  seen 
in  the  county.  Extensive  quarries  were 
opened  in  this  limestone  to  supply  material 
for  building  the  old  National  Road,  and  in  the 
debris  of  these  old  quarries  were  obtained 
numerous  fossils  from  the  marly  layers  tiirown 
off  in  stripping  the  solid  limestone  beds  that 
lay  below.  The  limestone  is  a  tough,  fine- 
grained, mottled,  brown  and  gray  rock,  in 
tolerably  heavy  beds,  which  makes  an  excel- 
lent macadamizing  material,  and  also  affords 
a  durable  stone  for  culverts,  bridge  abutments 


and  foundation  walls.  From  what  has  already 
been  stated  it  will  be  inferred  that  there  is  no 
great  amount  of  coal  accessible  in  this  county, 
except  by  deep  mining.  In  the  thin  seams 
outcropping  at  Murphy's  place,  near  the  Wa- 
bash River,  and  at  Mr.  Howe's  and  Mrs. 
Brant's,  southeast  of  Casey,  the  coal  varies  in 
thickness  from  a  foot  to  eighteen  inches,  and 
though  of  a  fair  quality  the  beds  are  too  thin 
to  justify  working  them  except  by  stripping 
the  seams  along  their  outcrop  in  the  creek 
valleys.  The  coal  at  Murphy's  place  has  a 
good  roof  of  bituminous  shale  and  limestone, 
and  could  be  worked  successfully  by  the  ordi- 
nary method  of  tunnelling  if  it  should  be 
found  to  thicken  anywhere  to  twenty-four  or 
thirty  inches.  The  higher  seams  found  at  the 
localities  above  named,  southeast  of  Casey, 
are  thinner  than  at  Mr.  Murphy's,  though  one 
or  both  of  the  upper  ones  are  said  to  have  a 
local  thickness  of  eighteen  inches.  There  is 
no  good  reason  to  believe  that  the  main  work- 
able seams  that  are  found  outcropping  in  the 
adjacent  portions  of  Indiana,  should  not  be 
found  by  shafting  down  to  their  proper  horizon 
in  this  county,  notwithstanding  the  reported 
results  of  the  oii-well  borings  in  the  north- 
western portion  of  the  county. 

The  writer  specially  requested  Mr.  David 
Baughman  to  furnish  him  with  particulars  of 
an  artesian  well  sunk  on  his  place  in  1873-74 
In  reply  he  received  the  following  in  substance 
from  Mr.  Baughman:  The  well  was  sunk  to  a 
depth  of  1,211  feet,  and  showed  the  following 
section:  At  a  depth  of  110  feet  coal  was 
reached,  four  and  three  quarter  feet  thick;  two 
feet  of  fine  clay  was  found  underlying  it.  At 
the  depth  of  144  feet,  a  vein  of  coal  tbi-ee  feet 
thick  was  found;  and  at  the  depth  of  230  feet  a 
vein  of  coal  over  seven  feet  in  thickness  was 
found,  specimens  of  which,  Mr.  Baughman  in- 
forms us,  he  has  on  hand,  subject  to  the  inspec- 
tion of  any  who  may  wish  to  examine  them.     If 


HISTORY  OF  CLARK  COUNTY. 


215 


there  is  no  mistake  in  the  reported  section  of 
this  well,  there  are  veins  of  coal  to  be  found 
in  that  locality  at  a  depth  to  justify  their 
being  profital)lj^  worked. 

Building  Utone. —  Clark  County  is  well 
supplied  with  both  freestone  and  limestone 
suitable  for  all  ordinary  building  purposes. 
The  sandstone  bed  on  Hurricane  Creek, 
southeast  of  Martinsville,  is  partly  an 
even-bedded  freestone,  that  works  freely 
and  hardens  on  exposure  and  is  a  reliable 
stone  for  all  ordinary  uses.  The  abut- 
ments of  the  bridge  over  the  North  Fork  on 
the  o;d  National  Road  were  constructed  of 
this  sandstone,  which  is  still  sound,  although 
more  than  thirty  years  have  passed  away  since 
thev  were  built.  The  sandstone  bed  overlying 
the  limestone  at  the  old  Anderson  mill  below 
the  mouth  of  Joe's  Fork,  also  affords  a  good 
building  stone,  as  well  as  material  for  grind- 
stones, and  the  evenlj'-bedded  sandstone 
higher  up  on  Joe's  Fork,  which  overlies  the 
green  shales,  is  of  a  similar  character,  and  af- 
fords an  excellent  building  stone.  Each  of 
the  three  limestones  in  this  county  furnishes  an 
excellent  macadamizing  material,  and  the 
Quarry  Creek  limestone,  as  well  as  the  beds 
near  Livingston,  furnish  dimension  stone  and 
material  for  foundation  walls  of  good  quality. 
A  fair  quality  of  quicklime  is  made  from  both 
the  limestones  above  named,  and  on  Quarry 
Creek  the  kilns  are  kept  in  constant  operation 
to  supply  the  demands  for  this  article  in  the 
adjacent  region. 

An  excellent  article  of  white  claj',  suitable 
for  pottery  or  fire-brick,  was  found  in  the 
shaft  near  Marshall,  about  eighty  to  eighty- 
five  feet  below  the  Livingston  limestone  and 
about  fifty  feet  above  the  coal  in  the  bottom 
of  the  shaft,  which  was  probably  the  same  coal 
found  at  Murphj-'s.  This  bed  of  clay  would 
]>robubly  be  found  outcropping  in  the  Wabash 
bluffs,  not  far  below  Murphy's  place. 

Soil  and  Timber. — The  soil  i~  generally  a 


chocolate-colored  sandy  loam,  where  the  sur- 
face is  rolling,  but  darker  colored  on  the  flat 
prairies,  and  more  mucky,  from  the  large  per 
cent  of  humus  which  it  contains.  The  prai- 
ries are  generally  of  small  size,  and  the  county 
is  well  timbered  with  the  following  varieties: 
White  oak,  red  oak,  black  oak,  pine  oak, 
water  oak,  shell-bark  and  pig-nut  hickory, 
beech,  poplar,  black  and  white  walnut,  white 
and  sugar  maple,  slippery  and  red  elm,  hack- 
berry,  linden,  quaking  ash,  wild  cherry,  honey 
locust,  red  birch,  sassafras,  pecan,  coffee-nut, 
black  gum,  white  and  blue  ash,  log- wood,  red- 
bud,  sycamore,  cotton  wood,  buckeye,  per- 
simmon, willow,  etc.  The  bottom  lands  along 
the  small  streams,  and  the  broken  lands  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Wabash  bluffs,  sustain  a  very 
heavy  growth  of  timber,  and  fine  groves  are 
also  found  skirting  all  the  smaller  streams 
and  dotting  the  upland  in  the  prairie  region. 
As  an  agricultural  region  this  county  ranks 
among  the  best  on  the  eastern  border  of  the 
State,  producing  annually  fine  crops  of  corn, 
wheat,  oats,  grass,  and  all  the  fruits  and 
veo-etables  usually  grown  in  this  climate. 
Market  facilities  are  abundantly  supplied  by 
the  Wabash  River,  the  Vandalia,  Wabash 
and  other  railroads  passing  through  the 
county,  furnishing  an  easy  communication 
with  St.  Louis  on  the  west,  or  the  cities  of 
Terre  Haute  and  Indianapolis  on  the  east,  and 
Chicago  on  the  north.  Notwithstanding  the 
fine  character  of  the  soil  and  lands  of  the 
county,  much  of  the  land  has  been  almost 
worn  thread-bare  by  constant  cultivation,  no 
rest,  and  no  manuring  or  fertilizing.  By 
proper  means  it  may  be  improved,  and  re- 
stored to  its  original  quality  and  strength. 

In  addition  to  the  indications  of  coal,  the 
county  contains  mineral  wealth  to  some  ex- 
tent, though  perhaps  not  in  sufficient  quanti- 
ties to  justify  mining.  '  At  one  time  it  was 
believed  that  silver  existed  here  in  consider- 
able quantities,  and  the  excitement  occasioned 


216 


HISTORY  OF  CLARK  COUNTY. 


thereby  was,  for  a  time,  intense.  The  people 
nearly  went  wild,  and  lands  supposed  to  be 
impregnated  with  silver  were  held  at  fabulous 
prices.  But  the  most  critical  examination 
by  experts  showed  that  while  silver  actually 
existed  in  many  places,  it  was  in  such  a  lim- 
ited way  as  to  be  wholly  unremuncrative  to 
even  attempt  to  do  anything  toward  mining. 
Further  particulars  of  the  silver  excitement 
will  be  given  in  the  township  chapters. 

JI/oMwrfs.— Clark  County  abounds  in  mounds, 
relics  of  that  lost  race  of  people  of  whom 
nothing  is  definitely  known.  These  mounds, 
the  origin  of  which  is  lost  in  the  mists  of  re- 
mote antiquity,  and  of  which  not  even  tradi- 
tionary accounts  remain,  number  about  thirty 
in  this  county,  and  extend  along  the  Wabash 
river,  and  at  the  edge  of  the  prairie  from  near 
Darwin  to  below  York,  thence  into  Crawford 
county.  They  are  of  different  sizes  and  shape, 
and  some  of  them  of  considerable  extent,  rang- 
ing from  ten  to  sixty  feet  in  diameter,  and 
from  two  to  fifteen  feet  high.  In  early  times 
they  were  much  higher,  having  been  worn  and 
cut  down  by  the  cultivation  of  the  land;  in- 
deed, some  of  them  are  almost  if  not  entirely 
obliterated,  while  all,  at  least,  have  been  more 
or  less  reduced  in  altitude.  The  largest  is  on 
the  land  of  James  Lanhead,  near  York,  and 
one  and  a  fourth  miles  from  the  river.  This 
mound  has  been  explored,  and  from  its  depths 
were  taken  stone  hatchets,  fragments  of 
earthenware,  arrow-heads,  flints,  etc.  Sev- 
eral others  have  been  opened  of  late  years, 
with  much  the  same  results. 

[It  has  been  pretty  definitely  settled  by 
pre-historic  writers,  that  these  mounds  were 
actually  built  by  a  race  of  people,  and 
■were  of  different  kinds,  viz.:  temple  mounds; 
mounds  of  defense;  burial  mounds;  sacrifi- 
cial mounds,  etc.,  etc.  See  Part  I  of 
this  work. — Ed.]  The  countless  hands  that 
erected  them;  the  long  succession  of  genera- 
tions that  once  inhabited  the  adjacent  coun- 


try, animating  them  with  their  labors,  their 
hunting  and  wars,  their  songs  and  dances, 
have  long  since  passed  away.  Oblivion  has 
drawn  her  impenetrable  veil  over  their  whole 
history;  no  lettered  page,  no  sculptured  mon- 
ument informs  us  who  they  were,  whence  they 
came,  or  the  period  of  their  existence.  In 
vain  has  science  sought  to  penetrate  the  gloom 
and  solve  the  problem  locked  in  the  breast  of 
the  voiceless  past,  but  every  theory  advanced, 
every  reason  assigned,  ends  where  it  began, 
in  speculation. 

"  Ye  moklering  relics  of  departed  years, 
Your  names  have  perished;  not  a  trace  remains, 

Save  where  the  grass-grown  mound  its  summit  rears 
From  the  green  bosom  of  your  native  plains — 
Say,  do  your  spirits  wear  oblivion's  chains? 

Did  death  forever  quench  your  hopes  and  fears?" 

The  antiquities  of  Clark  County  are  similar 
to  other  portions  of  the  State.  Indian  graves 
are  not  uncommon,  especially  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  mounds  above  described.  Fragments 
of  bones,  and  in  one  or  two  instances  whole 
skeletons  in  a  remarkable  state  of  preserva- 
tion have  been  found.  Near  Rock  Hill  church, 
on  Union  Prairie,  in  the  year  1850,  Jonathan 
Hogue,  while  digging  a  cellar  and  some  post- 
holes,  discovered  three  stone-walled  graves 
within  a  radius  of  a  hundred  feet,  and  about 
two  feet  beneath  the  surface,  each  containing 
the  perfect  skeleton  of  an  adult  person  in  a 
silting  posture  facing  the  sunrise.  Flints, 
arrow-heads,  etc.,  were  also  found  in  these 
graves.  In  other  instances  graves  have  been 
found,  where  the  length  from  head  to  foot  did 
not  exceed  four  feet,  and  yet  contained  a 
skeleton  of  full  stature.  This,  at  first,  gave 
rise  to  the  belief  that  the  skeletons  of  a  race 
of  pigmies  had  been  discovered.  But  a  more 
careful  examination  of  the  position  of  the 
bones  showed  that  the  leg  and  thigh  bones 
laid  parallel,  and  that  the  corpse  had  been 
buried  with  the  knees  bent  in  that  position. 


/ 


HISTORY  OF  CLARK  COUNTY. 


217 


In  natural  advantages  Clark  County  is  in- 
ferior to  none  of  her  sister  counties.  She  has 
her  Dolson  and  Parlcer  Prairies,  ar.ible  and 
productive;  her  Rich  woods,  which  are  all  the 
name  implies;  her  Walnut  and  Union  Prai- 
ries, the  garden  spots  of  Illinois.  She  lias  her 
river  and  creek  bottoms,  receiving  their  allu- 
vial deposits  from  the  annual  overflows,  ren- 
dering them  inexhaustible  in  fertility.  She 
'las  her  barrens,  capable  of  producing  almost 
any  product  grown  in  this  latitude.  Has  her 
hill  country,  that  only  awaits  the  sinking  of 
tiie  shaft  and  the  light  of  the  miner's  lamp  to 
reveal  coal-beds  of  exceeding  richness.  Sil- 
ver, too,  has  already  been  found  in  small 
quantities,  at  the  mine  already  opened  in  Wa- 
bash township,  by  enterprising  citizens,  and 
there  is  no  foretelling  the  possibilities.  Pe- 
troleum exists  in  many  parts  of  the  county, 
and  yet  flows  from  the  Young  well,  in  Parker 
township.  Capita!  will,  at  no  distant  future, 
explore  the  hidden  depths,  and  compel  it  to 
become  an  important  factor  in  the  wealth  and 
commerce  of  the  county. 

As  a  county,  she  is  admirably  adapted  to 
the  growth  of  all  products  peculiar  to  an  ex- 
cellent soil  in  this  latitude.  Corn  grows  lux- 
uriantly, and  yields  abundantly;  the  various 
esculents  attain  perfection,  and  as  a  wheat 
and  grass  county,  ranks  among  the  foremost 
in  the  State.  There  is  no  portion  of  it  but 
what  is  well  adapted  to  the  growth  of  large 
fruits,  and  within  her  limits  are  some  very  fine 
orchards.  Small  fruits,  of  all  varieties  com- 
mon to  the  climate,  seem  indigenous  to  our 
soil,  and  with  little  care  and  attention  return 
bounteous  yields. 

Stock  raising  is  one  of  her  great  resources, 
and  can  be  prosecuted  with  large  profits.  It 
is  an  industry  that  has  rapidly  increased  since 
the  advent  of  railroads,  and  ono  that  is  attract- 
ing attention  and  capital.  And  large  areas  of 
land,  where  once  the  craviffish  raised  his  hill- 
ock,  and  the  frog  and  the  turtle  held  sway, 


now   sustain    herds   of   cattle    and   flocks  of 
sheep. 

The  health  of  the  county  isinferior  to  none. 
With  the  exception  of  chills  ane  fever  along 
the  miasmatic  river  and  creek  bottoms,  there 
is  but  little  sickness.  Our  county  being  a 
pleteau  exceeding  in  elevation  any  adjoining 
counties,  the  atmosphere  is  naturally  purer 
and  more  salubrious,  and  as  a  consequence, 
ths  mortality  among  our  people,  in  proportion 
to  population,  is  as  little  as  any  county  in  the 
State.  We  have  the  purest  water  to  be  found 
anywhere.  Living  springs  gush  out  in 
countless  places,  and  nature's  pure  and  whole- 
some beverage  can  be  found  anywhere  for 
the  digging.  Our  railroad  advantages  are 
first-class,  abundantly  able  to  accommodate 
all  the  wants  of  commerce.  We  have  supe- 
rior educational  facilities,  the  efficiency  of 
our  school  system  being  evidenced  on  every 
side;  and  the  corps  of  teachers  throughout 
the  county,  far  above  the  average.  Our  peo- 
ple, as  a  class,  are  tetnperate,  law  abiding  and 
industrious;  and  religious  denominations  with 
large  followings  flourish  in  country  and  town. 

Clark  is  capable  of  supporting  a  dense  pop- 
ulation, and  offers  superior  inducements  to 
immigrants  of  all  kinds.  The  farmer  in 
search  of  a  home,  can  purchase  lands,  im- 
proved or  unimproved,  at  reasonable  rates; 
the  artisan  can  find  employment  for  his  skill, 
the  laborer  find  employment,  the  professional 
man  find  business.     There  is  room  for  ail. 

Although  Clark  -si as  one  of  the  pioneer 
counties  of  the  Wabash  Valley,  and  although 
one  of  her  towns  at  one  time  rivaled  Terre 
Haute,  yet  she  was  among  the  last  to  receive 
within  her  territory  one  of  those  mighty  arter- 
ies of  commerce,  a  railroad. 

For  two  decades  or  more  her  condition  was 
that  of  inaction  and  stagnation.  Owing  to 
various  disappointments  in  regard  to  the 
building  of  railroads  through  the  county,  men 
of  skill  and  enterprise,  as  well  as  capital,  left 


218 


HISTORY  OF  CLAKK  COUNTY. 


her  to  seek  elsewhere  locations  more  conge- 
nial and  better  adapted  to  active  business 
pursuits.  This  centrifugal  influence  came 
very  near  depleting  the  countj'  of  the  best 
part  of  her  population.  They  went  to  places 
where  the  transportation  facilities  were  equal 
to  the  wants  of  the  people,  and  where  years 
of  their  lives  would  not  be  spent  in  listless 
apathy. 

She  sat  supinely  by,  after  the  failure  and 
disappointment  in  her  railroad  projects,  and 
saw  the  rushing  trains  speed  across  the  do- 
mains of  hersister  counties,  by  far  her  juniors. 
Saw  their  uninterrupted  course  of  prosperity; 
saw  their  lands  rise  rapidly  in  value — saw 
the  smoke  of  their  factories — heard  the  dull 
thunder  of  their  mills.  Saw  them  in  the 
front  rank  of  advancement,  marching  to  tlie 
grand  music  of  progress.  Saw  them  double, 
even  treble,  her  in  wealth. 

But  things  were  changed  as  by  some  ma- 
gician's power.  When  the  first  shriek  of  the 
locomotive  awoke  the  echoes  of  her  hills,  and 
the  rumble  of  the  trains  rolled  across  her 
prairies,  old  Clark  arose,  Phcenix  like,  from 
the  ashes  of  her  sloth,  and  like  a  young  giant, 
shook  off  the  lethargy  that  bound  her;  took 
up  the  line  of  march  toward  prosperity,  and 
made  gigantic  strides  toward  the  position  she 
should  occupy  in  modern  progress.  She  was 
infused  with  new  life,  and  capital  and  enter- 
prise were  attracted  to  her  borders. 

Her   advancement  has   been    almost   phe- 


nomenal, and  has  far  exceeded  the  anticipa- 
tions of  the  most  sanguine.  Inaction  gave 
way  to  energy,  and  lethargy  to  enterprise. 
Emigrants  poured  in,  land  and  lots  increased 
in  value;  farms  were  opened  in  every  section, 
and  industry  flourished  beyond  precedent. 
Towns  and  villages  sprang  up  as  if  by  magic. 
Tidy  farm-houses,  neat  and  tasty  school-hous- 
es, and  churches,  those  surest  indexes  of 
prosperity  and  culture,  and  mighty  promoters 
of  all  that  is  good,  dotted  the  prairies  and 
nestled  in  the  uplands.  Every  department  of 
business  received  an  impetus  powerful  and 
lasting,  and  the  trades  flourished  as  they  had 
never  before.  She  entered  upon  an  era  of 
unprecedented  prosperity.  Improvements 
were  visible  on  every  hand.  Where  once  sol- 
itude reigned,  the  hum  and  smoke  of  the 
mills  fret  and  darken  the  air.  Her  future  is 
indeed  bright.  She  is  grid-ironed  with  rail- 
roads and  sieved  with  telegraphs,  and  the 
products  of  her  fields  reach  an  hundred  marts. 
And  when  her  immense  agricultural  and  min- 
eral resources  are  fully  developed,  old  Clark 
will  occupy  a  proud  position  in  the  galaxy  of 
counties  that  compose  this  mighty  State.  To- 
day, Clark  stands  side  bj'  side  with  her  sister 
counties  of  the  Wabash  Valley,  in  agriculture 
and  all  its  kindred  associations.  It  on  !y  needs 
the  active  energy  of  her  citizens  to  place  her 
in  the  van,  advancing  as  the  years  advance, 
until  the  goal  of  her  ambition  is  reached. 


CHAPTER     II, 


EARLY   SETTLEMENTS-THE  PIONEERS  AND  WHERE    THEY   CAME  FROM— THEIR   HARD 
LIFE,  RUDE    DWELLINGS   AND    COARSE  CLOTHING— INCIDENT  OF  A  BISCUIT— 
SALT-NEGRO  SLAVERY— AN  EXCITING  CAMPAIGN— COL.  ARCHER- 
GAME-"  MARKS"     AND     "  BRANDS   "—TAXATION— THE 
INDIANS-SHOOTING  MATCHES— EARLY  SOCIETY 
—CHRISTIANITY  AND  PIONEER  PREACH- 
ERS—INTEMPERANCE— THE 
CLIMATE,  ETC.,  ETC. 


"  Great  nature  spoke;  oliservant  men  obey'd; 
Cities  were  built,  societies  were  made: 
Here  rose  a  little  State;  another  near 
Grew  by  like  means,  and  join'u  through  love  or 
fear." — Pope. 

IT  has  been  said,  that  civilization  is  a 
forced  condition  of  existence,  to  which 
man  is  stimulated  by  a  desire  to  gratify  arti- 
ficial wants.  And  again,  it  has  been  written 
by  a  gifted,  but  gloomy  misanthrope,  that  "As 
soon  as  you  thrust  the  plowshare  under  the 
earth,  it  teems  with  worms  and  useless  weeds. 
It  increases  population  to  an  unnatural  extent 
— creates  the  necessity  of  penal  enactments — 
builds  the  jails — erects  the  gallows — spreads 
over  the  human  face  a  mask  of  deception  and 
selfishness — and  substitutes  villainy,  love  of 
wealth  and  power,  in  the  place  of  the  single- 
minded  honesty,  the  hospitality  and  the  honor 
of  the  natural  state."  These  arguments  are 
erroneous,  and  are  substantiated  neither  by 
history  or  observation.  Civilization  tends  to 
the  advancement  and  elevation  of  man;  Lifts 
him  from  savagery  and  barbarism,  to  refine- 
ment and  intelligence.  It  inspires  him  with 
higher  and  holier  thoughts — loftier  ambitions, 
and  its  ultimate  objects  are  his  moral  and 
physical  happiness.  But  as  every  positive  of 
good  has  its  negative  of  evil,  so  enlightened 
society  has  its  sombre  side — its  wickedness 
anil  iminoralities. 


The  pioneer  is  civilization's  forlorn  hope. 
Without  him,  limited  would  be  its  dominions. 
He  it  is  who  forsakes  all  the  comforts  and 
surroundings  of  civilized  life — all  that  makes 
existence  enjoyable;  abandons  his  early  home, 
bids  adieu  to  parents,  sisters  and  brothers, 
and  turns  his  face  toward  the  vast  illimitable 
West.  With  iron  nerve.s  and  lion  hearts,  these 
unsung  heroes  plunge  into  the  gloomy  wilder- 
ness, exposed  to  perils  and  disease  in  a  thou- 
sand different  forms,  and  after  years  of  in- 
credible toils  and  privations  they  subdue  the 
forest,  and  thus  prepare  the  way  for  those 
who  follow. 

"Who  were  the  first  settlers  of  Clark 
County?  "  is  a  question  most  difficult  to  satis- 
factorily answer.  There  is  considerable  di- 
versitjr  of  opinion  among  our  oldest  living  citi- 
zens as  to  the  first  pioneers.  There  is  a 
story  extant  that  the  first  white  inhabitant  of 
Clark,  as  its  territory  is  now  defined,  was  a 
man  who  shot  and  killed  his  brother  at  Vin- 
cennes,  in  1810;  he  escaped  in  a  canoe  and 
paddled  up  the  Wabash,  landing  near  the 
present  Chenoweth  ferry,  and  lived  a  wild, 
semi-savage  life,  a  fugitive  from  justice.  It 
is  said  he  was  seen  by  one  or  more  of  the 
settlers  who  came  years  later,  and  that  the 
Indians  asserted  the  fact  of  his  existence,  and 
tiiat  he  was  the  first    wliite   inhabitant   of  the 


220 


HISTORY  OF  CLARK  COUNTY. 


county.  There  is  nothing  corroborative  of 
this  stor}',  find  we  niaj'  regard  it  as  one  of  the 
many  traditions  of  the  past. 

As  early  as  1812,  Fort  Lamotte,  on  the  site 
of  Palestine,  was  built,  and  the  nearest  settle- 
ment, except  Vincennes,  was  Fort  Harrison» 
near  Terre  Haute.  A  family  named  Hutson, 
however,  located  about  five  miles  north  of 
Palestine,  where  they  were  massacred  by  the 
Indians,  and  their  buildings  destroyed.  As 
the  savages  were  troublesome  and  hostile 
during  the  war  of  1813,  it  is  hardly  probable 
that  there  were  any  settlements  in  Clark  prior 
to  its  close,  though  it  has  been  strenuously 
asserted  that  settlements  were  made  in  the 
county  as  early  as  1814.  From  the  roost  reli- 
able information  obtainable,  the  first  perma- 
nent settlers  were  the  Handys;  Thomas,  and 
his  sons  John  and  Stephen.  They  came  from 
Post  St.  Vincent,  near  Vincennes,  to  Union 
Prairie,  in  the  spring  of  1815;  broke  ground 
planted  and  raised  a  crop  of  corn,  erected  cab- 
ins, and  in  the  fall  ensuing,  removed  their  fam- 
ilies hither.  Thomas,  the  father,  settled  on  the 
farm  now  occupied  by  James  Harrison;  John, 
where  West  Union  stands,  and  Stephen,  on 
the  farm  occupied  by  Mrs.  Sophronia  Brooks. 
The  late  Thomas  Handy,  son  of  John,  once 
prominent  and  well  known  among  our  people, 
is  said  to  have  been  the  first  white  child  born 
in  Clark  County.  This  is  disputed  by  some 
of  the  oldest  living  settlers,  who  assert  posi- 
tively, that  Scott  Hogue  and  Isabel  Handy, 
born  within  a  few  hours  of  each  other,  saw  the 
light  of  day  prior  to  Thomas. 

In  the  year  following,  there  were  signs  of 
Indian  hostilities  and  the  Handys  erected 
a  fort  or  stockade  on  the  hill,  one  half 
mile  south  of  West  Union,  called  it  "  Fort 
Handy,"  and  removed  their  families  there 
for  security.  The  well  dug  within  the  work, 
and  which  furnished  the  water  supply  for  the 
dwellers,  could  be  seen  a  few  years  ago. 
This  fort,  the  only  structure  of  the  kind  ever 


built  in  the  county,  was  situated  on  the  pres- 
ent farm  of  James  Harrison.  It  was  not  a 
very  formidable  or  extensive  work  of  defense, 
and  was  built  out  of  abundant  caution  by  the 
settlers.  It  contained  two  or  three  cabins 
for  the  accommodation  of  the  families,  and 
was  surrounded  liy  a  bullet-proof  palisade, 
pierced  with  loop-holes  at  convenient  dis- 
tances. The  same  year  (181G)  other  families 
came,  among  whom  were  the  Hogues,  the 
Millers,  Bells,  Megeath,  Prevo,  Blaze,  Crow, 
Leonard,  the  Richardsons  and  Fitchs,  who 
all  settled  on  Union  Prairie,  the  two  last 
named  founding  the  town  of  York  in  1817. 
The  first  house  erected  there,  a  log  dwelling, 
was  built  by  Chester  Fitch.  James  Gill,  yet 
living  and  residing  in  Cumberland  County, 
aided  in  its  erection.  Henry  Harrison  set- 
tled in  the  timber,  immediately  west  of  Un- 
ion, in  1818.  The  Bartletts  located  near  him 
about  the  same  time. 

Walnut  Prairie,  just  north  of  Union,  and 
separated  from  it  by  Mill  Creek  and  a  nar- 
row strip  of  timber,  was  settled  in  1817  by 
the  Archers,  Neely,  McClure,  Welch,  Chen- 
oweth,  Dunlap,  Blake,  Shaw,  Poorman,  Staf- 
ford, Lockard,  Essery  and  a  few  others.  Mr. 
Essery  afterward  entered  land  on  Big  Creek, 
two  miles  northeast  of  where  Marshall  now 
stands,  and  opened  what  is  known  as  the 
"  Cork  farm,"  where  he  died  at  an  advanced 
age.  Reuben  Crow  for  a  few  years  culti- 
vated cotton  on  Union  Prairie,  with  some  suc- 
cess, and  erected,  perhaps,  the  first  cotton- 
gin  north  of  the  Ohio  River.  The  experi- 
ment of  raising  cotton  was  tried  with  fair 
results,  some  years  later,  on  Walnut  Prairies. 
The  soil  of  these  two  prairies  seems  admira- 
bly adapted  to  the  culture  of  cotton,  but  the 
climate  is  too  irregular  to  render  its  produc- 
tion remunerative. 

About  the  year  1823  a  settlement  was 
commenced  at  the  head  of  Parker  Prairie. 
Among  these  early  inhabitants  were  the  fam- 


HISTORY  OF  CLARK  COUNTY. 


221 


ilies  of  Parker,  Coiinely,  Bean,  Newport  (a 
noted  Baptist  preacher),  Biggs,  Iiee,  Duncan) 
Dawson,  Briscoe,  Bennett,  Redman,  Evin" 
gor  and  otliors.  On  Big  Creek  there  were 
some  new  settlers:  the  Mains,  Forsythe,  Mc- 
Clure,  and  David  Reynolds,  an  aged  and  re- 
spected pioneer  yet  living.  But  it  is  unnec- 
essary to  follow  the  subject  farther,  as  an 
extended  notice  of  the  early  settlements  and 
settlers  will  be  given  in  the  respective  ciiap- 
ters  devoted  to  each  township. 

The  cabins  of  the  early  settlers  were  rude, 
but  secure.  Thev  were  generally  built  of 
large  logs  and  constructed  with  an  eye  to 
safety  and  defense;  for  the  Indians  were  nu- 
merous, and  at  times  threatened  hostilities. 
Mrs.  Justin  Harlan  relates  that  the  cabin 
constructed  by  her  father,  David  Hogue,  and 
situated  on  the  present  farm  of  M.  C.  Dol- 
son,  near  York,  was  a  Gibralter  of  primitive 
architecture.  The  logs  composing  the  walls 
were  massive  and  heavy,  and  pierced  with 
loop-holes  commanding  every  approa^  h.  The 
roof  was  so  constructed  as  to  be  almost  fire- 
proof, while  the  door  was  a  ponderous  affair 
of  slabs,  and  secured  by  fastenings  that 
would  have  resisted  the  efforts  of  a  giant. 
James  Gill,  then  a  boy  of  fourteen,  says  that 
in  company  with  seven  men  he  assisted  in 
the  construction  of  a  cabin  near  the  present 
town  of  York,  in  1816,  and  during  its  build- 
ing one  of  the  men  killed  a  deer  and  hung  it 
in  a  tree  near  by.  During  the  night,  the  loud 
barking  of  the  dogs,  and  the  snorting  and 
plunging  of  the  horses,  aroused  the  settlers 
and  the  dread  whisper  went  around — "  In- 
dians!" They  arose  in  silence — each  man 
grasped  his  trusty  rifle  and  manned  his  allot- 
ted loop-hole.  Skirmishers  were  thrown  out 
with  the  utmost  caution  and  strict  guard  was 
kept  until  broad  da3\  No  signs  of  Indians 
were  discovered,  and  they  concluded  that  it 
was  some  wild  beast,  attracted  by  the   scent 


of  blood  from  the  slain  deer,  that  had  caused 
the  alarm. 

The  privations  endured  by  the  early  settlers 
were  such  as  none  but  stout  hearts  would  dare 
to  encounter.  Nothing  but  the  hopeful  in- 
spiration of  manifest  destiny  urged  them  to 
persevere  in  bringing  under  the  dominion  of 
civilized  man  what  was  before  them,  a  howling 
wilderness.  These  sturdy  sons  of  toil,  pio- 
neers in  the  early  civilization  of  Clark  County, 
mostly  hailed  from  the  States  of  New  York, 
Ohio,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  and  a  few 
from  South  Carolina.  They  were  exceptions, 
to  a  great  degree,  of  the  accepted  rule, 
"that  immigrants  on  settling  in  a  new  coun- 
try, usually  travel  on  the  same  parallel  as 
that  of  the  home  they  left." 

The  fashions  were  few  and  simple,  com- 
pared with  the  gaudy  and  costly  paraphernalia 
of  the  present  time.  Comfort  and  freedom 
were  always  consulted.  The  principal  articles 
for  clothing  were  of  home  manufacture,  such 
as  linsej'-woolsey,  jeans,  tow-linen,  etc.  The 
world  was  not  laid  under  tribute  as  now,  to 
furnish  the  thousand  mysteries  of  a  lady's 
toilet — mysteries  that  like  the  ways  of  Prov- 
idence, are  past  finding  out,  at  least  bv  the 
sterner  sex.  Powders  and  lotions,  and  dan- 
gerous cosmetics  by  which  the  modern  belle 
borrows  the  transient  beauty  of  the  present, 
and  repays  with  premature  homeliness,  were 
unknown  to  her  frontier  ancestors,  whose 
cheeks  were  rosy  with  the  ruddy  glow  of 
health — painted  by  wholesome  exercise  and 
labor.  Shoes  and  slippers  of  kid  and  morocco,' 
with  high  and  villainous  heels,  were  not  then 
worn.  The  beauty  and  symmetry  of  the  fe- 
male form  was  not  distorted  and  misshapen 
by  tight  lacing.  The  brave  women  of  those 
daj-s  knew  nothing  of  ruffles,  curls,  switches 
or  bustles;  had  not  even  dreamed  of  those 
fearful  and  wonderful  structures  of  the  pres- 
ent, called  "  boiuiets."     Instead  of  the  organ 


222 


HISTORY  OF  CLARK  COUNTY. 


or  piano,  before  -which  sits  the  modern  miss, 
torturing  selections  from  the  majestic  operits(!) 
they  had  to  handle  the  distaff  and  shuttle, 
accompanying  the  droning  wheel  or  rattling 
loom  with  the  simple  and  plaintive  melodies 
of  the  olden  time,  contented  with  their  lin- 
sey  clothing — their  roughly  made  shoes,  and 
a  sun-bonnet  of  coarse  linen.  Proud  and 
happy  was  she,  and  the  envy  of  her  less  for- 
tunate sisters,  who  was  the  possessor  of  a  cal- 
ico dress,  brought  from  Cincinnati  or  far  off 
Orleans.  An  estimable  old  lad}',  now  living, 
informed  the  writer,  that  the  first  shoes,  other 
than  of  home  manufacture,  that  she  ever  pos- 
sessed, were  of  the  heaviest  calf-skin;  and  so 
careful  and  jealous  was  she  of  them,  that 
many  a  time  she  carried  her  shoes  and  stock- 
ings in  her  hand  to  within  a  hundred  yards  of 
the  place  of  meeting,  to  keep  from  soiling  or 
wearing  them  out.  And  this  she  repeated  on 
her  way  homeward,  even  if  escorted  by  some 
rustic  gallant.  The  costume  of  the  men  was 
as  simple  and  primitive.  The  "  wamns  "  was 
almost  universally  worn.  This  was  a  kind  of 
loose  frock,  reaching  to  the  waist,  open  before, 
with  large  sleeves  and  cape,  the  latter  some- 
times fringed  by  raveling  and  attaching  a 
piece  of  cloth  different  in  hue  to  the  garment. 
The  "  wamus "  resembled  an  army^  overcoat 
of  the  present  day,  with  the  tail  cut  off. 
Breeches  and  leggings  furnished  the  cover- 
ing of  the  thighs  and  legs.  Home-made  shoes 
or  moccasins  supplied  him  with  footgear,  and 
the  skin  of  the  raccoon  made  him  hat  or  cap, 
though  not  a  few  of  the  men  dressed  in  full 
suits  of  buckskin. 

The  pursuits  of  the  early  settlers  were 
chiefly  agricultural.  Fort  Harrison  and  Vin- 
cennes  were  their  nearest  trading  points. 
However,  a  Pennsylvanian,  naire'l.Iohn  Wise, 
brought  a  small  assortment  of  goods  to  York, 
in  1818,  the  first  ever  in  the  county.  He  was 
the  pioneer  merchant  of  Clark,  and  is  yet 
living  in  Vincennes.     The   two  first  named 


were  the  principal  points,  where  they  bartered 
for  the  few  necessaries  which  could  not  be 
produced  or  manufactured  at  home.  There 
were  no  cooking  stoves  and  ranges,  and  the 
thousand  culinary  apparatuses  of  to-day  were 
unknown  among  the  early  settlers.  Broad 
was  generally  baked  in  what  was  called 
"  Dutch  ovens;"  though  frequently  on  aboiird 
before  the  fire,  and  often  in  the  ashes.  Among 
the  poorer  classes,  the  "corn  dodger"  was 
tiie  only  bread.  It  is  related  that  a  wearied 
traveler  stopped  at  one  of  these  humble 
cabins  to  rest  and  refresh  himself  and  jaded 
horse.  In  his  saddle-bags  he  had  a  few  of 
those  old-time,  yellow,  adamantine  indigesti- 
bles — saleratus  biscuit,  and  by  accident 
dropped  one  upon  the  hearth.  He  was  absent 
a  few  moments,  and  upon  returning,  the  eldest 
boy  had  covered  the  wheaten  bowlder  with 
live  coals,  saying  to  the  surrounding  tow- 
heads,  "  I'll  make  him  stick  his  head  out  and 
crawl,"  mistaking  the  biscuit  for  some  new 
species  of  terrapin.  Tea,  coffee  and  sugar 
were  rarely  used,  except  on  the  visit  of  the 
preacher,  or  some  other  equally  momentous 
occasion.  The  fare  was  plain,  substantial 
and  healthj'.  The  richlj-  flavored,  highly  sea- 
soned, dyspepsia-promoting  food  of  to-day,  is 
the  invention  of  a  later  civilization.  There 
were  no  friction  matches,  their  place  being 
supplied  by  the  flint  and  steel.  In  nearlv 
every  family,  the  chunk,  like  the  sacred  fires 
of  the  Aztecs,  was  never  allowed  to  expire. 
In  the  genial  spring-time,  the  prudent  house- 
wife, in  making  her  soap,  always  stirred  it 
"  widdershins "  that  is,  from  east  to  west, 
with  the  course  of  the  sun.  To  stir  the  reverse 
of  this,  was  to  destroy  all  the  cleansing  qual- 
ities of  the  soap. 

The  people  were  quick  and  ingenious  to 
supply  by  invention,  and  with  their  own 
hands,  the  lack  of  mechanics  and  artificers. 
Each  settler,  as  a  general  rule,  built  his  own 
house — made  his  own  plows,  harrows  and  har- 


HISTORY  OF  CLARK  COUNTY. 


223 


r.ess.  The  cultivation  of  the  soil  was  con- 
ducted after  the  most  approved  fashion  of 
primitive  times.  The  plows,  with  wooden 
mold-board,  turned  the  sod;  the  harrow,  with 
wooden  teeth,  prepared  it  for  planting.  The 
harness  was  often  made  of  ropes,  sometimes 
with  the  bark  of  trees.  The  collars  were  of 
straw.  Corn  was  the  principal  crop;  very 
little  wheat  was  produced,  and  was  seldom 
sown  on  Walnut  or  Union  prairies,  or  along 
the  river  and  creek  bottoms,  for  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a  century  afier  the  formation  of 
the  county.  For  the  soil  of  these  sections 
was  thought  to  be  wholly  inadapted  to  its 
growth.  It  is  only  of  late  years  that  wheat 
has  become  the  staple  crop  on  the  prairies 
and  bottom  lands.  The  ]>ioneer  also  made 
his  furniture,  and  other  indispensable  articles. 
And  considering  his  few  tools,  and  the  entire 
absence  of  all  machinery,  many  of  these  were 
models  of  skill  and  workmanship.  Their 
carts  and  wagons,  however,  were  ponderous 
affairs,  made  wholly  without  iron,  the  wheels 
often  consisting  of  cuts  from  six  to  eight 
inches  in  thickness,  sawed  from  the  end  of  a 
large  log:.  A  hole  was  made  in  the  center  for 
the  insertion  of  the  spindle.  Into  the  axle 
the  huge  tongue  was  inserted.  The  bed  was 
fastened  to  the  axle,  and  extended  about  an 
equal  distance  before  and  aft;  the  front  end 
was  secured  to  the  tongue.  Soft  soap  was 
substituted  lor  tar,  to  facilitate  the  movement 
of  the  vehicle.  Dr.  Williams,  of  Casey,  relates 
that  when  a  boy,  he  once  accompanied  his 
father  to  a  horse-mill,  in  one  of  these  old-time 
carts.  It  was  in  the  winter,  and  they  were 
delayed  about  their  grinding,  and  did  not  get 
started  home  until  the  evening  of  the  second 
(ay.  Darkness  overtook  them,  and  to  render 
matters  worse,  their  lubricating  supply  gave 
out.  The  lumbering  and  creaking  of  their 
juggernaut  could  be  heard  a  mile  or  more, 
and  soon  aroused  all  the  wolves  in  four  town- 
ships.    At  first  they  were   timid,   and    kept 


well  behind;  but  as  they  proceeded,  became 
bolder,  and  the  gloomy  woods  resounding 
with  their  dolorous  howls  were  only  equaled 
by  the  horrible  noise  of  the  wagon.  The 
snarling  and  growling  pack  kept  clos- 
ing in,  until  their  fiery  eyeballs  could  be 
seen,  and  their  panting  be  heard.  His  father 
would  drop  one  occasionally  with  his  rifle, 
which  would  temporarily  check  the  pursuit, 
but  it  was  only  after  a  desperately  contested 
struggle  that  they  escaped  being  devoured. 

That  indispensable  article,  salt,  was  at  first 
wagoned  from  Cincinnati  to  Vincennes,  or 
floated  down  the  Ohio  and  keel-boated  up  the 
Wabash.  The  more  prosperous  of  a  neigh- 
borhood, who  could  purchase  two  or  three 
bushels  at  a  time,  soon  found  it  a  profitable 
investment,  for  they  doled  it  out  to  their  less 
fortunate  neighbors,  at  largely  increased 
price,  and  were  as  careful  in  the  weight  and 
measurement  as  if  each  grain  were  gold. 
In  after  years,  the  Vermillion  County  salines 
rendered  salt  more  abundant  and  less  difficult 
to  obtain. 

From  1S19  to  IS'23  immigration  to  Clark 
County,  and  in  fact  to  the  Wabash  Valley, 
almost  ceased,  on  account  of  their  unhealth- 
iness.  The  principal  diseases  were  bilious 
and  intermittent  fevers.  These  fevers  took 
their  most  malignant  character  in  the  bottom 
lands  bordering  large  streams,  especially  the 
AVabash.  There,  in  the  rich  black  loam, 
formed  from  the  alluvial  deposits  of  the 
spring  floods,  and  of  great  depth,  vegetation 
luxuriated  in  almost  tropical  profusion.  Im- 
mense quantities  were  produced,  the  decay 
of  which  generated  vast  volumes  of  miasma. 
The  high  bluffs  which  usually  border  these 
teeming  lands,  covered  with  dense  woods, 
prevented  the  circulation  of  the  purer  air 
from  the  uplands,  and  left  all  the  causes  of 
disease  to  take  their  most  concentrated  forms 
among  the  unfortunate  settlers  of  these  dis- 
mal solitudes.     Here,  at  fated  periods,  these 


224 


HISTORY  OF  CLARK  COUNTY. 


disorders,  or  "  Wabash  chills,"  as  they  were 
termed,  found  their  most  numerous  victims. 
Some  seasons  they  Ijecame  epidemic — a  pes- 
tilence, almost — prostrating  the  entire  com- 
munity. The  inhabitants  of  the  adjacent 
prairies  were  by  no  means  exempt  from  these 
plagueful  visitations  which  seemed  indiaje- 
nous  to  the  soil.  From  the  sluggish  sloughs 
that  penetrated  these  districts  arose  the  dis- 
ease-burdened malaria,  which  tainted  the  air 
and  left  its  imprint  in  the  sallow  complexions 
and  emaciated  forms  of  the  people.  By  rea- 
son of  these  ailments  the  crops  frequently  suf- 
fered sadly  for  want  of  proper  cultivation  and 
care,  often  entailing  suffering  and  destitution 
the  ensuing  winter.  Physicians  were  few,  and 
the  victims  of  those  distressing  plagues  sel- 
dom received  any  medical  attention  or  reme- 
dies. Every  family  was  its  own  doctor,  and 
roots  and  herbs  supplied,  though  illy,  the  place 
of  quinine  and  the  more  powerful  cures  and 
preventatives  of  the  present.  As  the  coun- 
try was  opened  up  and  reduced  to  cultiva- 
tion, and  the  people  became  acclimated, 
these  fevers  became  less  prevalent,  and  lost 
in  some  degree  their  virulence. 

According  to  the  first  county  census  taken 
by  Silas  Hoskins,  of  Aurora,  in  1820,  there 
were  nine  hundred  and  thirty  whites  and 
one  slave,  thus  indicating:  that  the  blisrhtino- 
curse  of  human  slavery  once  desecrated 
Clark  County.  In  this  connection  a  brief 
mention  of  a  few  of  the  provisions  of  the 
"  Black  Laws,"  as  they  were  called,  enacted 
by  our  first  Legislature,  and  which  disgraced 
our  statute  books  for  twenty-five  years,  may 
not  prove  uninteresting.  There  were  com- 
paratively few  negroes  in  our  county  during 
the  existence  of  these  laws,  the  highest  num- 
ber being  thirty-eight.  Under  this  code, 
immigrants  to  the  State  were  allowed  to 
bring  their  negroes  with  them;  and  such  of 
the  slaves  as  were  of  lawful  age  to  consent, 
could  go  before  the  clerk  of  the   county  and 


voluntarily  sign  an  indenture  to  serve  their 
masters  for  a  term  of  years,  and  could  be 
held  to  the  performance  of  their  contracts; 
if  they  refused,  their  master  could  remove 
them  from  the  State  within  sixty  days.  The 
children  of  such  slaves  were  taken  before  an 
officer  and  regiit?red,  and  were  bound  to 
serve  their  masters  until  thirty-two  3-ears  of 
age.  Such  slaves  were  called  indentured  and 
registered  servants,  and  were  annually  taxed 
by  the  county  authorities,  the  same  as  horses 
and  cattle.  No  -negro  or  mulatto  could  re- 
side in  the  State,  until  he  had  produced  a  cer- 
tificate of  freedom,  and  given  bond  with  se- 
curity for  good  behavior,  and  not  to  become 
a  county  charge.  The  children  of  such  free 
negroes  were  registered.  Every  person  of 
color,  not  having  a  certificate  of  freedom,  was 
deemed  a  runaway  slave;  was  taken  up, 
jailed  by  a  justice,  advertised  and  sold  for 
one  year  by  the  sheriff;  if  not  claimed  in  that 
time,  was  considered  free,  though  his  master 
might  reclaim  him  any  time  thereafter.  Any 
slave  or  servant  found  ten  miles  from  home, 
without  a  pass  from  his  master,  was  punished 
with  thirty-five  lashes.  The  owner  of  any 
dwelling  could  cause  to  be  given  to  any  ser- 
vant entering  the  same,  or  adjoining  grounds, 
ten  stripes  upon  his  bare  back.  Any  person 
permitting  slaves  or  servants  to  assemble  for 
dancing,  night  or  day,  was  fined  twenty  dol- 
lars; and  it  was  made  the  duty  of  every 
peace  officer  to  commit  such  an  assemblage 
to  jail,  and  order  each  one  whipped,  not  ex- 
ceeding thirty-nine  lashes  on  the  bare  back. 
In  all  cases  where  free  persons  were  punish- 
able with  fine,  servants  were  corrected  by 
whipping,  at  the  rate  of  twenty  lashes  for 
every  eight  dollars'  fine.  The  object  of  these 
laws  was  to  prevent  free  negro  immigration, 
and  to  discourage  runaway  slaves  from  coming 
to  Illinois  to  become  free.  But  for  what  pur- 
pose such  rigorous  punishments  were  meted 
to  slaves   and  servants,   for  such   trifling  of- 


J' 


^^  {^^At^^^ — 


HISTORY  OF  CLARK  COUNTY. 


227 


feiises,  when  their  paucity  of  numbers  pre- 
cluded all  danger  of  seditions  and  insurrec- 
tions, can  only  be    conjectured. 

The  most  exciting  and  memorable  cam- 
paign that  ever  marked  the  history  of  the 
Slate,  occurred  in  the  years  182.3-4.  It  grew 
out  of  a  proposition  of  the  pro-slavery  party, 
which  had  a  majority  in  both  branches  of  the 
Legislature,  to  call  a  convention,  subject  to  a 
vote  of  the  people,  to  frame  a  constitution 
recognizing  slavery  in  Illinois,  in  utter  defi- 
ance to  the  ordinance  of  1787,  by  which 
slavery  was  prohibited  in  the  Northwest  ter- 
ritorv.  The  campaign  began  in  the  spring 
of  1823,  and  lasted  until  August  2,  1824.  It 
was  the  longest  contest  ever  in  the  State  or 
count}-;  a  contest  angiy  and  bitter,  and  char- 
acterized by  torrents  of  personal  detraction 
and  abuse.  The  excitement  extended  even 
to  the  ministry.  The  Baptists  and  Method- 
ists were  the  prevailing  denominations,  and 
were,  almost  to  a  man,  opposed  to  a  conven- 
tion and  slavery.  And  the  old  preachers,  in 
outbursts  of  rude  and  fiery  eloquence,  and  in 
language  so  fierce  and  caustic  as  to  ill  be- 
come the  armor  bearers  of  the  lowly  Nazarine, 
fired  the  hearts  of  their  flocks  against  the 
"divine  institution,"  and  painted  slavery  in 
all  its  hideousness.  Governor  Coles  was  the 
leader  of  the  anti-slavery  movement,  and  his 
trenchant  reasoning  portrayed  all  the  iniquity 
and  deformity  of  slavery.  The  anti-slavery 
party  was  victorious  by  a  majority  of  over 
two  thousand,  and  forever  put  at  rest  the 
question  of  slavery  in  Illinois.  The  vote  of 
Clark  was  thirty-one  votes  in  favor  of  a  con- 
vention and  slavery,  and  one  hundred  and 
sixteen  against. 

Colonel  William  B.  Archer  was  the  anti- 
slavery  candidate  for  the  Legislature;  his  op- 
ponent, William  Lowrie.  Colonel  Archer 
was  triumphantly  elected  by  a  vote  of  one 
hundred  and  thirty-eight  to  five.  Although 
raised  in  a  slave  State,  Colonel  Archer  at  an 


early  age  imbibed  an  unconquerable  aversion 
to  human  slavery;  and  during  his  long  and 
busy  life,  whether  in  legislative  halls  or  the 
private  walks  of  life,  he  ever  advocated  the^ 
cause  of  freedom  and  free  States.  And  we 
deem  it  not  inappropriate  to  give  here  an  ex- 
tended notice  of  this  remarkable  man. 

He  was  the  oldest  of  eight  children  of 
Zachariah  Archer,  three  of  whom  yet  survive: 
.Judge  Stephen  Archer,  Hannah  Crane  and 
Elizabeth  Hogue.  His  father's  family  removed 
from  Warren  County,  Ohio,  to  Kentucky, 
and  from  thence  to  this  county,  landing  here 
in  a  keel  boat  near  what  is  known  as  the 
Block  School  House,  during  the  memorable 
Wabash  freshet  in  the  year  1817.  He  was 
tall  of  stature,  spare  made  and  slightly 
stooped.  He  had  tlip  endurance  of  an  Indian 
— was  insensible  to  fatigue — a  man  of  iron. 
His  character  was  rugged,  strong  and  res- 
olute, and  marked  with  peculiar  irulividuality. 
He  had  a  sound  judgment,  a  firm  confidence 
and  abiding  faith  in  his  own  convictions  of 
right,  and  a  moral  courage  to  defend  them  that 
is  rarely  met  with.     In  fact,  were 

"The  elements  so  mixed  in  him 
That  Nature  might  stand  up 
And  say  to  all  the  world, 
This  is  a  man." 

The  people  recognized  his  sterling  qualities, 
and  he  at  once  took  a  commanding  position 
in  the  affairs  of  the  infant  settlement.  He 
then  commenced  a  long,  busy  and  useful  ca- 
reer. He  was  the  first  county  and  circuit 
clerk. 

He  was  appointed  one  of  the  commission- 
ers of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal,  and 
laid  out  the  town  of  Lockport,  on  the  Illinois 
River.  He  was  engaged  on  some  public  im- 
provement near  Chicago,  and  that  city  hon- 
ored him  by  naming  an  avenue  in  his  honor, 
which  still  bears  the  name  of  "  Archer  Ave- 
nue."  He  promptly  responded  to  the  call  for 
troops   in    the  Black  Hawk  War,  was  made 


228 


HISTORY  OF  CLAKK  COUNTY. 


captain,  and  served  with  distinction.  He  was 
again  circuit  clerk,  in  1S4S.  In  politics  he 
was  a  Whig,  and  a  partizan,  yet  respectful 
for  the  opinion  of  others.  He  made  the  mem- 
orable congressional  race  against  Judge  J.  C. 
Allen,  which  resulted  in  a  tie.  He  was 
defeated  in   the  next  election. 

It  is  said  of  him  that  he  was  the  first  man  to 
bring  the  name  of  the  lamented  Lincoln,  of 
whom  he  was  a  devoted  friend,  into  public 
notice.  He  was  a  delegate  to  a  convention, 
at  Philadelphia,  we  believe,  and  during  the 
deliberations.  Colonel  Archer  proposed  the 
name  of  Lincoln  for  Vice  President,  when  a 
pert  member  sarcastically  asked:  "Who  is 
Lincoln?  Can  he  fight?"  The  Colonel  an- 
swered: "  Yes,  by  Guinea,  he  can,  and  so 
can  I." 

In  private  life  he  was  genial  and  kind,  and 
around  his  private  character  cluster  many 
noble  virtues.  He  was  married  to  Eliza  Har- 
lan, and  the  result  of  that  union  was  a 
daughter,  who  became  the  wife  of  the  late 
Woodford  Duianey,  of  Kentucky.  His  reli- 
gious convictions  we  never  knew,  but  suffice 
it  to  say,  he  was  an  honest  man.  He  was  an 
honored  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity  for 
sixty  years.  But  the  absorbing  and  control- 
ling idea  of  his  life  was  for  the  improvement 
and  development  of  the  county,  both  town 
and  country.  For  this  he  labored — for  this  he 
toiled,  and  for  this  he  gave  the  best  years  of 
his  manhood. 

He  became  interested  in  the  construction 
of  the  old  Wabash  Valley  Railroad,  (the  pres- 
ent Wabash)  and  entered  into  the  work  with 
all  the  zeal  and  energy  of  his  indomitable 
nature.  He  gave  his  time  and  his  money, 
and  just  as  it  seemed  that  success  would 
crown  his  efforts,  the  project  was  abandoned. 
He  was  never  destined  to  see  its  completion. 
He  did  more  for  Clark  County  than  any  man 
in  his  day  or  since.  But  no  recognition,  pe- 
cuniary or  otherwise,  was  ever  given  him  for 


his  long  and  valuable  services.  Possessed  at 
one  time  of  ample  means,  yet  so  absorbed 
was  he  in  his  schemes  of  public  improvement, 
that  he  was  careless  as  to  his  private  affairs, 
became  involved  and  lost  nearly  everything. 

Time  bent  his  form,  silvered  his  locks  and 
enfeebled  his  steps,  but  it  could  not  conquer 
his  spirit.  Butat  last  the  end  came.  Bowed 
down  by  the  weight  of  eighty  years,  and  in- 
firmities incurred  by  a  long  life  of  incessant 
toil  for  the  general  good,  on  the  9th  day  of 
August,  1870,  he  calmly  passed  to  his  final 
reward,  leaving  as  his  only  legacy,  an  untar- 
nished name,  and  the  enduring  monuments  of 
his  labor  and  enterprise  in  the  county. 

For  a  considerable  period  after  the  forma- 
tion of  the  county,  and  for  years  before, 
there  was  but  little  or  no  good  money  in 
circulation.  The  people  were  involved  in 
debt,  the  lands  purchased  from  the  United 
States  were  unpaid  for  and  likely  to  be  for- 
feited. Such  bank-notes  as  were  in  circula- 
tion had  driven  out  the  specie;  and  as  these 
notes  became  worthless,  one  after  another, 
the  people  were  left  almost  destitute  of  any 
circulating  medium  whatever.  The  county 
commerce  was  insignificant;  we  exported  lit- 
tle or  nothing,  except  the  scanty  surplus  of 
produce  occasionally  shipped  to  New  Or- 
leans. Hence  there  was  nothing  to  attract 
an  influx  of  coin  into  the  countrj'.  The 
great  tide  of  expected  immigration  from 
abroad  failed  to  come,  and  real  estate  of  ev- 
ery description  was  unsalable.  This  state 
of  affairs  prevailed  all  over  the  State;  and 
to  remedy  the  evil,  the  Legislature  of  1831 
created  a  State  bank.  All  br^inches  of  indus- 
try and  business  flourished  for  a  time,  but  the 
bank  was  founded  on  false  theories  of  solv- 
ency and  utterly  failed  of  its  contemplated 
objects — -in  fact  almost  bankrupted  the  peo- 
ple. A  considerable  period  following  the 
decline  of  the  State  Bank  was  called  the 
"  harvest  of  the    Shylocks."      The  legal   rate 


HISTOr.Y  OF  CLARK  COUNTY. 


229 


of  interest  was  six  per  cent;  but  there  were 
no  interest  limits  to  special  contracts,  nor  no 
penalties  for  usury.  Consequently,  those 
having  money  took  advantage  of  the  neces- 
sities of  the  people  and  extorted  exorbitant 
interest  rates,  often  as  high  as  one  hundred 
and  fifty  per  cent  being  charged. 

Game  was  abundant  in  the  early  settle- 
ment of  the  count}'.  Deer,  turkeys,  hares, 
squirrels,  foxes,  otters,  muskrats,  raccoons, 
opossums,  etc.,  existed  in  large  numbers. 
A  lew  bears  were  killed,  but  they  were  never 
numerous.  Panthers,  catamounts,  wolves  and 
wildcats  abounded,  to  the  great  annoyance 
of  the  settlers.  Smaller  vermin,  such  as 
weasels,  minks,  skurdcs  and  polecats  were 
very  plentiful;  and  these,  with  the  owls  and 
hawks,  rendered  the  raising  of  domestic  fowls 
very  difficult.  Porcupines  were  also  quite  nu- 
merous. In  an  early  day  droves  of  wild  horses 
roamed  over  portions  of  the;  country  west  of  us 
(then  in  Clark  County),  but  there  is  no  ac- 
count of  any  ever  having  been  within  our 
present  limits.  The  streams  were  alive  with 
fisii,  especially  the  Wabash.  The  catfish, 
muskalonge,  bass,  perch,  sturgeon,  spoon- 
bills, shad,  eels,  etc.,  were  very  plenty.  In 
the  early  spring  the  river,  creeks,  ponds  and 
ba)-ous  were  covered  with  geese,  ducks, 
brant  and  other  water-fowl,  and  on  the  prai- 
ries were  large  numbers  of  prairie-chickens, 
grouse  and  partridges. 

In  early  times,  when  the  amount  of  cul- 
tivated land  was  very  small  and  live  stock 
had  unbounded  range,  owners  were  more 
particular  than  in  later  times  about  their 
marks  and  brands.  Horses  were  always 
branded;  other  stock  was  marked.  These 
were  their  only  means  of  identification,  as 
cattle  and  hogs  were  often  turned  out  in  the 
early  spring  and  were  likely  to  be  seen  no 
more  till  cold  weather.  Sheep  were  gener- 
ally kept  through  the  day  in  inclosures,  and 
at  night  in  stout  high  corrals,  to  prevent  their 


destruction  by  the  wolves.  Some  of  the 
early  marks  were  curiosities  in  their  way. 
Charles  Neely's  mark  was  recorded  May  26, 
1S19,  the  first  in  the  county,  and  was  "A 
smooth  crop  ofiF  of  the  left  ear  and  a  slit  in 
the  same."  The  mark  of  Hugh  Miller  was 
"An  under-bit  or  half  penny  out  of  the  un- 
der side  of  each  ear."  That  of  Joseph  Shaw, 
"A  smooth  crop  off  the  right  ear  and  an 
underslope  from  heel  to  point  of  the  left 
ear,  bringing  the  ear  to  a  point,  similar  to 
foxing."  Cushing  Snow's  was,  "  A  smooth  crop 
oif  the  left  ear  and  a  poplar  leaf  in  the  right; 
that  is,  a  crop  ofi'  the  point,  and  upper  and 
under  bit  in  the  same,  which  forms  a  poplar 
leaf."  The  penalty,  on  conviction,  for  alter- 
ing or  defacing  any  mark  or  brand  with  intent 
to  steal,  or  prevent  identification  by  the 
owner,  was  a  public  whipping,  not  exceeding 
one  hundred  lashes  on  the  bare  back,  impris- 
onment not  exceeding  two  yeais,  and  fine  in 
a  sum  not  less  than  one  half  the  value  of  the 
animal  on  which  the  mark  was  altered  or 
defaced.  The  severity  of  the  punishment 
indicates  the  jealous  importance  our  ances- 
tors attached  to  their  marks  and  brands,  and 
their  lofty  regard  for  the  rights  of  property. 
The  condition  of  society,  and  the  moral  de- 
portment of  the  early  settlers  were  very  good 
for  a  new  country,  where  the  laws  were  lax, 
and  feebly  enforced,  where  schools  were  few 
and  inferior,  and  where  religious  instruction 
and  church  organization  were  rare,  and  not 
publicly  carried  on  as  in  later  years.  Candor, 
honesty,  and  a  readiness  to  help  a  friend  or 
neighbor  in  distress,  were  the  chief  character- 
istics of  the  early  pioneers.  They  were  in- 
dustrious as  a  class,  generous  in  their  hospi- 
tality, warm  and  constant  in  their  friendships, 
and  brave  in  the  defense  of  their  honor.  As 
is  the  case  in  all  newly-settled  countries,  there 
was  among  them  a  rough  and  boisterous  ele- 
ment, a  low  grade  and  type  of  civilization. 
An  element  ignorant,  vicious  and  uncouth;  its 


230 


TIISTORY  OF  CLARK  COUNTY. 


members  loud  in  their  deiuinciations  of  any 
innovations  tending  to  better  their  condition, 
or  that  looked  toward  the  erection  of 
Christian  institutions. 

The  lives  of  the  early  pioneers  must  indeed 
have  been  monotonous.  The  settlements  vrere 
scattering,  and  the  population  sparse.  There 
■was  no  general  system  of  schools,  or  of  reli- 
gious teachings,  and  as  a  consequence,  for 
years  the  Sabbath  was  simply  observed  as  a 
day  of  rest  by  the  young  and  old.  When 
anv  future  event,  that  promised  to  relieve  the 
tedium  of  their  existence  became  bruited 
throughout  a  settlement,  its  coming  was  im- 
patiently awaited.  A  house  or  barn  raising,  or 
log  rolling,  a  quilting  frolic,  or  husking  bee — 
each  and  all  of  these  were  looked  forward  to 
with  liveliest  anticipation.  But  nothing 
stirred  society  to  its  remotest  depths  like  the 
announcement  of  a  wedding.  A  marriage  was 
a  momentous  event,  and  was  looked  forward 
to  with  e:iger  expectation  by  young  and  old 
Mrs.  Judge  Stockwell  relates  that  she  was- 
present  at  the  marriage  of  Stephen  Archer  to 
Nancy  Shaw,  and  that  the  wedding  and 
"infare"  carnival  lasted  three  days  and 
nights  in  one  continuous  round  of  merry-mak- 
ing, and  was  only  terminated  by  exhaustion 
and  loss  of  sleep  on  the  part  of  the  guests. 

There  was  a  rapid  influx  of  population  after 
the  year  1825.  The  census  of  1S30,  at  which 
time  the  county  had  been  greatly  reduced  in 
territorial  extent,  being  somewhat  over  twice 
its  present  size,  showed  a  population  of  3,921 
■white,  and  19  colored.  The  increase  in  num- 
ber of  white  people  being  over  four  hundred 
per  cent,  over  the  census  of  1820.  The  ma- 
jor part  of  this  immigration  ■  was  from  the 
Southern  and  Middle  States.  Nearly  all  the 
necessaries  and  the  few  luxuries  of  frontier 
life,  which  had  hitherto  been  wagoned  over 
the  mountains  to  Pittsburg,  thence  floated 
down  the  Ohio  to  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash, 
and  pulled  and  poled  up  that  stream  on  keel 


boats,  were  now  transported  by  steam-boats, 
quite  a  number  of  which  plied  the 
waters  of  the  latter  stream.  About  all  the 
surplus  products  of  the  county,  such  as  corn, 
bacon,  and  the  like,  together  with  lumber, 
staves  and  hoop-poles,  were  generally  shipped 
to  New  Orleans,  an  undertaking  that  involved 
a  long,  perilous  and  tedious  voyage,  often  re- 
quiring two  and  three  months  for  going  and 
returning.  The  journey  home  was  gerieially 
performed  on  foot,  through  three  or  four  In- 
dian tribes  inhabiting  the  western  parts  of 
Mississippi,  Tennessee  and  Kentucky.  There 
are  citizens  now  living  in  the  county,  who 
have  each  made  five  different  pedestrian  trips 
from  New  Orleans  to  Darwin;  carrying  with 
them,  over  all  the  long  and  weary  miles,  the 
proceeds  of  their  cargoes,  which  wore  invari- 
ably in  silver  coin.  This  system  of  co  iimerce 
was  carried  on  regularly,  and  quite  exten- 
sively for  many  years,  and  was  the  principal 
channel  of  shipment  for  surplus,  but  the 
railroad  system  of  the  present  day  has 
changed  all  this. 

The  taxes  during  the  first  decade  or  two 
"were  neither  heavy  nor  burdensome.  The  total 
amount  of  taxes  for  each  of  the  ten  years, 
ranged  from  two  to  five  hundred  dollars.  Yet 
these  insignificant  sums  were  to  defray  all 
the  contingent  expenses  of  the  county,  which 
was  then  larger  than  many  of  the  principali- 
ties in  Europe.  Lands  were  taxed  by  the 
State,  and  were  divided  into  three  classes  : 
first,  second  and  third,  'and  were  valued  at 
four,  three  and  two  dollars  per  acre,  and  were 
taxed  respectively,  two,  one  and  a  half,  and 
one  cents  per  acre.  In  1821  the  first  tax  was 
levied,  and  the  property  included  was  horses 
and  cattle,  clocks  and  watches,  town  lots  and 
pleasure  carriaares.  The  last  item  was  evi- 
dently a  mild  bit  of  pleasantry  on  the  part  of 
the  early  authorities,  as  such  things  existed 
only  in  the  imagination,  in  Clark  County.  In 
1823,  slaves,  registered  and  indentured  ne- 


HISTORY  OF  CLARK  COUNTY. 


231 


groes  aod  mulattoes,  and  rlistilleries,  were 
made  taxable  by  the  county  commissioners. 
A  stout,  lusty  ne<;ro  servant  or  skve  was  as- 
sessed at  about  the  same  as  five  good  horses. 
Ill  18;i7,  hogs,  sheep,  and  ferries  over  the 
Wabash,  were  made  taxable. 

The  county  commissioners  had  broader  and 
more  extensive  povrers  than  our  present  law- 
makers. They  not  only  had  authority  to 
license  certain  occupations,  but  also  to  fix 
and  establish  a  scale  of  prices  for  conducting 
the  same.  They  issued  license  to  the  keeper 
of  a  tavern  or  house  of  entertainment,  speci- 
fied the  amount  he  should  pay  for  the  same, 
and  tiien  arbitrarily  fixed  the  rates  he  should 
charge  his  guests;  and  if  the  wayfarer  was 
bibulously  inclined,  and  desired  a  stimulant, 
the  law  stepped  in,  and  not  only  scheduled 
the  kind  and  quantity  of  his  potation,  but 
fixed  the  maximum  price  for  it.  To  illustrate, 
a  specimen  is  herewith  given:  At  the  JIarch 
term,  1820,  of  the  commissioners'  court,  ap- 
pears the  following:  "Court  grant  license 
to  Silas  Hoskins  to  keep  a  tavern  in  Aurora, 
at  tiie  rate  of  two  dollars  per  year,  to  be  paid 
into  the  county  treasury,  and  fix  his  rates  as 
follows:  for  one  night's  lodging,  per  man,  12^ 
cents;  one  meal's  victuals,  per  man,  25  cents; 
one  feed  for  horse,  per  gallon  of  corn,  12^ 
cents;  one  horse  to  hay  and  oats,  per  night, 
37^  cents.  For  one  pint  of  rum,  wine  or 
brandy,  75  cents;  for  one  half  pint  of  same, 
374^  cents;  for  one  pint  of  whisky,  25  cents; 
for  one  half  pint  of  same,  12J  cents;  for  one 
gill  of  same,  li^  cents;  ale,  beer  or  cider,  per 
quart,  25  cents. 

About  this  time  the  Galena  lead  mines  were 
at  the  height  of  successful  operation,  and  our 
people  would  run  up  the  Mississippi  in  the 
spring,  labor  in  the  mines  during  warm 
weather,  and  then  return  to  their  homes  in 
the  fall,  thus  establishing,  as  was  supposed, 
a  similarity  between  their  migratory  habits 
and  those  of  the  piscatorial  tribe  called  suck- 


ers. For  this  reason  the  name  "Suckers" 
was  applied  to  the  Illinoisans,  at  the  Galena 
lead  mines  by  the  Missouriaiis,  and  which  has 
stuck  to  them  ever  since,  and  no  doubt  al- 
ways will.  Missouri  sent  hordes  of  uncouth 
ruffians  to  these  mines,  from  which  our  people 
inferred  that  the  State  had  taken  a  puke,  and 
had  vomited  forth  all  her  worst  population. 
As  analogiis  always  abound,  the  Illinoisans, 
by  way  of  retaliation,  called  the  Missourians 
"Pukes,"  a  name  they  will  be  known  by  for 
all  time. 

The  Indians  were  quite  numerous  in  the 
county  at  the  time  of  its  early  settlement. 
There  were  camps  on  Mill  Creek;  one  about 
a  mile  and  a  half  southeast  of  what  is  now 
Marshall,  on  what  is  now  known  as  the  Wat- 
son quarrj-;  one  a  short  distance  north  of  the 
present  town  of  Livingston,  and  one  south  of 
the  same,  near  the  Ahvood  hill.  But  the 
largest  camp  was  on  Dial's  Creek,  in  the  Rich- 
woods;  a  large  majority  of  these  Indians  were 
Kickapoos,  and  the  remainder  chiefly  Potta- 
watomies.  They  were  generally  quiet,  peace- 
able and  friendly,  spent  their  time  in  hunting 
and  trapping,  and  bartered  the  proceeds  of 
the  chase  with  the  whites,  for  corn,  powder 
and  lead,  salt,  etc.  They  about  all  disap- 
peared during  the  Black  Hawk  War.  Though 
during  the  war,  and  while  a  large  portion  of 
our  male  population  was  absent  in  the  army, 
there  was  a  large  number  on  Mill  Creek  that 
threatened  hostilities,  to  the  great  apprehen- 
sion of  the  remaining  settlers.  They  held 
pow-wows,  danced  their  war  dances,  and  at 
night  their  fierce  and  savage  yells  could  be 
heard  a  great  distance,  to  the  terror  of  de- 
fenceless women  and  children. 

There  then  lived  in  the  northeastern  por- 
tion of  the  county,  a  man  beyond  middle  ao-e, 
named  John  House,  who  was  a  second  Lewis 
Whetzel.  \\'hen  a  boy  the  savages  had 
massacred  nearly  alljiis  father's  family,  and 
he   had  sworn  eternal    vengeance,   and    im- 


232 


HISTORY  OF  CLARK  COUNTY. 


proved  every  opportunity  to  gratify  it.  He 
was  well  known  to  the  Indians  as  "  Big  Tooth 
John,"  on  account  of  his  eye  teeth  projecting 
over  his  under  lip,  like  tushes.  It  is  re- 
lated that  on  one  occasion,  while  hunting,  an 
Indian  stepped  from  an  amliush,  and  ex- 
plained how  easily  he  could  have  killed  him. 
House  pretended  to  be  quite  grateful,  but 
watching  his  opportunity,  shot  the  Indian 
dead.  He  enlisted  in  the  Black  Hawk  War, 
and  was  in  the  memorable  engagement  on  the 
banks  of  the  Mississippi,  of  August  2,  1S33, 
in  which  tiie  Indians  were  routed  and  which 
terminated  the  war.  During  the  battle,  a  Sac 
mother  took  her  infant  child,  and  fastening  it 
tea  large  piece  of  cottonwood  bark,  consigned 
it  to  the  treacherous  waves  rather  than  to 
captivity.  The  current  carried  the  child  near 
the  bank,  when  House  coolly  loaded  his  rifle, 
and  taking  deliberate  aim,  shot  the  babe  dead. 
Being  reproached  for  his  hardened  cruelty, 
he  grimly  replied,  "Kill  the  nits,  and  you'll 
have  no  lice." 

Among  the  diversionsof  tlie  (^irly  times,  were 
shooting  matches  for  beef,  turkeys,  whisky 
and  sometimes  for  wagers  of  money.  When 
a  beef  was  shot  for,  it  was  divided  into  five 
quarters,  the  liide  and  tallow  being  the  fifth, 
and  considered  the  best  of  all.  Among  the 
most  noted  marksmen  of  the  day,  were  Judge 
Stephen  Archer  and  Stump  Rhoads.  Indeed, 
so  expert  were  they,  that  both  were  generally 
excluded  from  the  matches,  and  the  fifth 
quarter  given  them,  as  a  sort  of  a  royalty,  the 
possession  of  which  was  usually  decided  by  a 
contest  between  themselves.  The  Judge  had 
been  several  times  victorious  over  his  rival, 
who  finally  procured  a  new  rifle,  and  badly 
defeated  his  opponent  on  a  most  momentous 
occasion.  Smarting  under  his  discomfiture, 
the  Judge  had  a  heavy,  target  rifle  made,  with 
especial  reference  to  accurate  shooting.  This 
artillery  he  dubbed  "  Sweet  Milk  and 
Peaches,"    and   patiently    bided    his  time  to 


vanquish  his  adversary.  An  opportune  occa- 
sion soon  arrived.  It  was  in  the  summer;  the 
usual  donation  had  been  made  to  these  cham- 
pions, and  Rhoads'  best  shot  h;ul  just  grazed 
the  center.  The  Judge's  breeches  were  of 
the  usual  tow  linen,  and  worn  without 
drawers.  As  he  was  lying  down,  taking  long 
and  deliberate  aim,  his  rival,  by  some  means, 
slipped  some  bees  up  the  leg  of  his  pantaloons. 
These  hostiles,  after  a  short  voyage  of  dis- 
covery, began  to  ply  their  harpoons.  But  so 
completely  absorbed  was  the  Judge  in  this 
struggle  for  victory,  that  he  stiffened  his  limb, 
elevated  it  straight  in  the  air,  and  crying: — 
"  Stump  .Rhoads,  you  can't  throw  Sweet  Milk 
off  that  center  with  no  dod-hlasted  bee," 
pulled  the  trigger,  clove  the  center,  and  was 
declared  the  winner. 

Though  society  was  rude  and  rough,  that 
curse  of  humanity,  intemperance,  was  no  more 
prevalent,  in  proportion  to  population,  than 
now,  perhaps  not  as  much.  Scarcely  was  the 
nucleus  of  a  settlement  formed,  ere  the  steam 
of  the  still  tainted  the  air.  The  settlers  en- 
dured privations  and  hunger,  and  their 
children  cried  lor  bread  for  want  of  mills; 
they  groped  in  ignorance  for  want  of  schools 
and  churches,  but  the  still  was  ever  in  their 
midst,  where  the  fanner  exchanged  his  bag  of 
corn  for  the  beverage  of  the  border.  In 
every  family  the  jug  of  bitters  was  an  insep- 
arable adjunct,  and  was  regularly  partaken 
of  by  every  member  of  the  household,  espe- 
cially during  the  chill  season.  The  visit  of  a 
neisrhbor  was  signaii.^e>l  by  producing  the 
bottle  or  demijohn.  At  all  rustic  gatherings, 
liquor  was  considered  an  indispensable  arti- 
cle, and  was  freely  us^d.  Everybody  drank 
whisky,  ministers  and  all.  True,  there  were 
some  sections,  in  which  the  people  resisted  all 
ailvancement  and  progress.  In  these,  liquor 
was  used  to  great  excess,  and  then,  as  now, 
was  an  active  piomoter  of  broils,  disturbances 
and  fights.     In  these  affrays,  to   their  credit 


HISTORY  OF  CLARK  COUNTY. 


2:;3 


be  it  said,  fists  and  feet  were  alone  u&ed,  and 
were  called  "rough  and  tumble."  The 
knife,  the  pistol  and  the  bludgeon,  were  then 
unknown,  and  are  the  products  of  a  much 
later  and  more  advanced  civilization.  These 
sections  were  known  as  the  "  hard  neighbor- 
hoods," and  were  always  shunned  by  re- 
spectable immigrants  seeking  homes.  There 
is  a  story  that  an  itinerant  teetotaler  once 
strayed  into  one  of  these  haunts  of  immorality, 
and  threw  a  fire-brand  into  the  camp  by  de- 
livering a  terrific  discourse  against  the  use  of 
intoxicants.  The  speaker  was  interrupted  by 
the  representative  man,  who  introduced  him- 
self, and  described  the  society  of  his  locality, 
as  follows:  "  I'm  from  Salt  Creek,  and  the 
folks  than  are  all  bad  and  wooley;  and  the 
higher  up  you  go,  the  wuss  they  air,  and  I'm 
from  the  headwaters.  I'm  a  wolf,  and  it's  my 
time  to  howl.  Now,  Mr.  Preecher,  what 
■would  we  do  with  our  corn  crop,  if  there  wuz 
no  still-houses?"  "  Raise  more  hogs  and  less 
hell  around  here,"  was  the  ready,  but  vigor- 
ous reply.  The  speaker  was  interrupted  no 
more. 

The  old  time  ministers  were  characters  in 
their  waj'.  A  distinct  race  so  to  speak,  and 
were  possessed  of  an  individuality,  peculiarly 
their  own.  As  a  class,  they  were  uneducated, 
rough  and  resolute,  and  encountered  and 
overcame  obstacles  that  would  appall  the 
efl'eminate  parsons  of  later  days.  They  were 
suited  exactly  to  the  civilization  in  which 
they  lived,  and  seem  to  have  been  chosen 
vessels,  to  fulfil  a  certain  mission.  These 
iiumble  pioneers  of  frontier  Christianity,  pro- 
claimed the  "  tidings  of  great  joy  "  to  the 
early  settlers,  at  a  time  when  the 
country  was  so  poor  that  no  other  kind  of 
ministers  could  have  been  maintained.  They 
spread  the  gospel  of  Christ  when  educated 
ministers  with  salaries  could  not  have  been 
supported.  They  preached  the  doctrine  of 
free   salvation,    without   money   and    without 


price,  toiling  hard  in  the  interim  of  their 
labors,  to  provide  themselves  with  a  scanty 
subsistence.  They  traversed  the  wilderness 
through  sunshine  and  storm;  slept  in  the  open 
air,  swam  swollen  streams,  suffered  cold, 
hunger  and  fatigue,  with  a  noble  heroism,  and 
all  for  the  sake  of  their  Savior,  and  to  save 
precious  souls  from  perdition.  JIany  of  these 
divines  sprang  from,  and  were  of  the  people, 
and  without  ministerial  training,  except  in 
religious  exercises,  and  the  study  of  the 
Scriptures.  In  those  times  it  was  not 
thought  necessary  that  a  minister  should  be 
a  scholar.  It  was  sufficient  for  him  to  preach 
from  a  knowledge  of  the  Bible  alone;  to 
make  appeals  warm  from  the  heart;  to  paint 
the  joys  of  heaven  and  the  miseries  of  hell  to 
the  imagination  of  the  sinner;  to  terrify  him 
with  the  one,  and  exhort  him,  by  a  life  of 
righteousness  to  attain  the  other.  Many  of 
these  added  to  their  scriptural  knowledge,  a 
diligent  perusal  of  Young's  Night  Thoughts, 
Milton's  Paradise  Lost,  Jenkins  on  Atone- 
ment, and  other  kindred  works  which  gave 
more  compass  to  their  thoughts,  and  brighter 
imagery  to  their  fancy.  And  in  profuse  and 
flowery  language,  and  with  glowing  enthusi- 
asm and  streaming  eyes,  they  told  the  story 
of  the  Cross. 

Sometimes  their  sermons  turned  upon  mat- 
ters of  controversy — unlearned  arguments  on 
the  subjects  of  free  grace,  baptism,  free  will, 
election,  faith,  justification,  and  the  final  per- 
severance of  the  saints.  But  that  in  which 
they  excelled  was  the  earnestness  of  their 
words  and  manner,  the  vividness  of  the  pict- 
ures they  drew  of  the  ineffable  bliss  of  the 
redeemed,  and  the  awful  and  eternal  torments 
of  the  unrepentant. 

"  They  preachetUhe  joys  of  heaven  and  pains  of  hell, 
And  wjrned  the  .-inner  with  becoming  zeal. 
But  on  eternal  mercy  loved  to  dwell." 
Above    all,     they    inculcated    the    great 
principles    of  justice    and    sound    morality, 


234 


HISTORY  OF  CLARK  COUNTY. 


and  were  largely  instrumental  in  pro- 
moting the  growth  of  intellectual  ideas, 
in  bettering  the  condition,  and  in  elevating 
the  morals  of  the  people ;  and  to  them 
are  we  indebted  for  the  first  establish- 
ment of  Christian  institutions  throughout  the 
county.  These  old-time  evangelists  passed 
away  with  the  civilization  of  the  days  in 
which  they  lived  and  labored.  They  fougiit 
the  good  tight,  well  and  faithfully  performed 
the  mission,  and  bore  the  burdens  their  divine 
Master  assigned  them,  and  may  their  sacred 
ashes  repose  in  jjeace,  in  the  quietude  of  their 
lonely  graves,  until  awakened  by  the  final 
trump. 

The  white  population  of  our  county  has 
steadily  and  rapidly  increased,  as  will  be  seen 
by  the  following  exhibit  by  decennial  periods: 
In  18"^0  the  white  population  was  930;  in 
1830,  3,921;  in  1840,  7,420;  in  1850,  9,494;  in 
I860,'  14,948;  in  1870,  1S,6'.:I8;  in  1880,  21,843. 
The  increase  in  colored  population  has  been 
small,  both  by  emigration  and  otherwise,  in- 
creasing from  one  slave  in  1820  to  fifty-one 
free  colored  in  1880.  After  1830  the  moral 
and  intellectual  condition  of  our  people  grad- 
ually improved,  each  passing  year  recording 
a  marked  change  for  the  better.  But  what  it 
lacked  in  refinement  it  made  up  in  sincerity 
and  hospitality.  The  establishment  of  com- 
merce, the  forming  of  channels  of  intercourse 
between  distant  sections  by  building  exten- 
sive highways,  the  regular  exportation  of  all 
our  surplus  products,  were  among  the  first 
means  of  changing  the  exterior  aspect  of  our 
population  and  giving  a  new  current  to  pub- 
lic feeling  and  individual  pursuit.  Tlie  free 
diffusion  of  knowledge  through  schools  and 
the  ministry  of  the  gospel  also  largely  con- 
tributed to  the  liappv  change,  and  to  all  these 
influences  are  we  indebted  for  the  civilization 
of  the  present.  But  still,  when  we  ponder 
on  those  olden  days,  rude  and  rough  as  they 
were,  wj  almost  wish  for  their  return.     Those 


good,. old  days,  when  the  girls  rode  behind 
their  sweethearts  to  church  or  pjrty,  and 
when  the  horses  always  kicked  up,  and  the 
maidens  held  tightlj'  oii;  when  wife  and  hus- 
band visited  on  the  same  nag,  the  former  in 
front  of  her  liege,  with  sleeping  babe  snugly 
cuddled  in  her  lap.  Those  good  old  days, 
when  the  hypocrisy,  shams,  and  selfishness  of 
modern  societv  were  unknown.  Wiien  the 
respectabilitv  of  men  and  women  was  not 
measured  by  their  bank  accounts  and  bonds, 
nor  by  displays  of  finery,  but  by  the  simple 
standard  of  worth  and  merit;  by  their  useful- 
ness in  the  community,  by  their  readiness  to 
aid  the  suffering,  to  relieve  the  distressed. 
When  there  were  no  social  castes  or  dis- 
tinctions, and  when  honesty  and  uprightness 
were  the  livery  of  aristocracy.  When  the 
turpitude  of  vice  and  the  majesty  of  moral 
virtue  were  regarded  with  stronger  sentiments 
of  aversion  and  respect  than  they  to-day  in^ 
spire. 

It  is  a  well-established  fact  that  the  settle- 
ment and  cultivation  of  a  country  have  a 
noticeable  effect  upon  the  general  tempera- 
ture of  the  climate.  But  the  change  has  been 
so  gradual  that  it  is  a  matter  of  difficulty  for 
our  few  surviving  pioneers  to  distinctly  rec- 
ollect and  describe.  At  the  first  settlement 
of  the  country  the  summers  were  much  cooler 
than  now.  Warm  evenings  and  nights  were 
not  common,  and  the  mornings,  frequently, 
uncomfortably  cold.  The  coolness  of  the 
niirhts  was  owing,  in  a  great  degree,  to  the 
deep,  dense  shade  of  the  forest  trees  and  the 
luxuriant  crops  of  wild  grass,  weeds,  and 
other  vegetation,  which  so  shaded  the  earth's 
surface  as  to  prevent  it  from  becoming  heated 
by  the  rays  of  the  sun.  Frost  and  snow  set 
in  much  earlier  than  now.  Snowfalls  fre- 
qu  ntly  occurn'd  during  the  latter  half  of 
October,  and  winter  often  sot  in  with  severity 
during  November,  and  sometimes  in  the  early 
part  of  it.     The  springs    were  formerly  later 


IIISTOKY  OF  CLARK  COUNTY. 


235 


and  colder  than  tliey  now  are,  but  the  chaiifje 
ill  lliis  respect  is  not  favorable  to  vegetation, 
as  the  latest  springs  are  generally  I'ollowed 
by  the  most  fruitful  seasons.  It  is  a  law  of 
the  veg  table  world  that  the  longer  the  gernii- 
natnig  principle  is  delayed  the  more  rapid 
when  put  in  motion.  Hence  those  far  north- 
ern countries  like  Sweden,  Norway,  and 
Russia,  which  have  but  a  short  summer  and 
no  spring,  are  among  the  most  productive  in 
the  world.  While,  in  this  latitude  especially, 
vegetation,  prematurely  started  by  reason  of 
open  winters  and  delusive  springs,  is  often 
checked  by  "  cold  snaps"  and  untimely  frosts, 
and  frequently  fails  to  attain  its  ultimate  per- 
fi'ction.  From  this  imperfect  account  of  the 
weather  system  of  early  times,  it  appears  tliat 


the  seasons  have  undergone  considerable 
change.  As  a  rule,  our  springs  are  earlier, 
summers  warmer,  the  falls  milder  and  longer, 
and  the  winters  shorter  and  accompanied 
with  less  cold  and  snow  than  formerly.  These 
changes  can  be  partly,  if  not  wholly,  attrib- 
uted to  the  destruction  of  the  forests.  Every 
acre  of  cultivated  land  must  increase  the  heat 
of  our  summers,  by  exposing  an  augmented 
extent  of  ground  surface  denuded  of  its  tim- 
ber, to  be  acted  upon  and  heated  by  the  rays 
of  the  sun.  But,  by  reason  of  there  being 
no  mountainous  barriers  either  north  or  south 
of  us,  the  conflict  for  equilibrium  between 
the  dense  and  rarified  atmospheres  of  these 
two  extremes  will  most  likely  continue  our 
changeable  and  fickle  climate  forever. 


OHAPTEE    III. 


ORGANIZATION  OF   THE  COUNTY— THE   LEGISLATIVE    ACT    CREATING    IT-LOCATION   OF 
THE  SEAT  OF  JUSTICE— THE   COURTS— AURORA    AND    DARWIN— REMOVAL    TO 
MAHSHALL-BITTER  CONTESTS-THE  QUESTION  FINALLY  SETTLED- 
DIVISION   OF  THE  COUNTY  INTO  PRECINCTS— ENGLISH 
TITHINGS— TOWNSHIP  ORGANIZATION— BEN- 
EFIT  OF  THE  SYSTEM,  ETC.,  ETC. 


CRAWFORD  Countj',  from  the  territory 
of  which  Clark  was  taken,  was  created 
under  the  old  territorial  laws.  It  embraced  a 
vast  extent  of  country,  including  all  of  East- 
ern Illinois  to  the  Canada  line,  and  as  far 
west  as  Fayette  County.  In  order  to  form  a 
new  county,  the  law  required  the  proposed 
district  to  have  at  least  350  iidiabitants.  The 
northern  portion  of  Crawford  having  the  req- 
uisite population  a  petition  was  filed  in 
the  Legislature  for  a  separate  county.  That 
body,  at  the  session  of  1819,  passed  the  fol- 
lowing act:  An  Act  Forming  a  new  County 
out  of  the  County  of  Crawford. 

Seo.  1.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  people  of  the 
State  of  Illinois  represented  in  the  General 
Assembly,  That  all  that  part  of  Crawford 
County  lying  north  of  a  line  beginning  on 
the  great  Wabash  River,  dividing  townships 
eight  and  nine  north,  running  due  west  shall 
form  a  new  and  separate  county  to  be  called 
"Clark." 

Sec.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  for 
the  purpose  of  fixing  the  permanent  seat  of 
justice  for  said  county  the  following  persons 
are  hereby  appointed  commissioners,  viz.: 
Smith  Shaw,  Thomas  Gill  and  James  Watts, 
which  commissioners  or  a  majority  of  them 
shall  meet  at  the  house  of  Charles  Neely  be- 
tween the  first  and  second  Mondays  of  May 
next,  and  after  having  been  duly  sworn  before 


some  justice  of  the  peace  within  this  State, 
faithfully  to  take  into  consideration  the  situa- 
tion of  the  settlements,  the  geography  of  the 
country  and  the  conveniency  and  eligibility 
of  the  place,  shall  then  proceed  to  establish 
the  permanent  seat  of  justice  for  the  said 
county  of  Clark,  and  designate  the  same, 
provided  however  the  proprietor  or  proprietors 
owning  such  land  on  which  the  seat  of  justice 
may  be  fixed,  shall  give  to  the  county  of 
Clark  twenty  acres  of  land  for  the  purpose  of 
erecting  public  buildings,  to  be  laid  out  into 
lots,  and  sold  for  the  use  of  said  county,  but 
should  the  proprietor  or  proprietors  neglect 
or  refuse  to  make  the  donation  as  aforesaid, 
then  and  in  that  case,  the  commissioners  shall 
fix  upon  some  other  place  for  the  seat  of  jus- 
tice for  said  county  as  convenient  as  maybe 
to  the  different  settlements  in  said  county, 
which  place  when  determined  on  by  said  com- 
missioners they  shall  certify  under  their  hamis 
and  seals  to  the  clerk  of  the  commissioners 
court,  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  said 
clerk  to  spread  the  same  on  the  records  of 
said  county,  and  the  said  commissioners  shall 
receive  two  dollars  per  each  day  they  may  he 
necessarily  employed  in  fixing  upon  the  afore- 
said seat  of  justice,  to  be  paid  out  of  the 
county  levy. 

Sec.  3.  And   be  it  further    enacted.    That 
until   the  county  commissioners  shall  other- 


HISTORY  OF  CLARK  COUNTY. 


237 


wise  direct,  the  court  and  elections  for  said 
county  shall  be  held  at  the  house  of  Charles 
Neely  in  said  county. 

Sec.  4.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the 
citizens  of  Clark  County  shall  be  entitled  to 
vote  for  Senator  and  Representatives  with 
Crawford  County  in  the  same  manner  as  they 
would  have  done  had  this  act  not  passed. 

Sec.  5.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  Tliat  the 
said  county  of  Clark  be  and  form  a  part  of  the 
second  judicial  district  and  that  the  courts 
tiierein  be  holden  at  such  times  as  shall  be  di- 
rected in  the  act  regulating  and  defining  the 
duties  of  the  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court. 

Sec.  G.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the 
county  commissioners  shall  proceed  tolaj'  out 
■  tiie  land  that  may  be  given  to  said  county 
into  lots  and  sell  the  same  or  as  much  as  they 
mav  think  proper  and  necessary  for  the  erec- 
tion of  public  buildings,  within  three  months 
from  the  time  the  seat  of  justice  shall  be 
established. 

Sec.  7.  And  be  it  further  enacted.  That  in 
order  to  remove  all  difficulty  concerning  the 
future  division  of  Clark  County,  it  is  hereby 
enacted  that  all  that  tract  of  country  lying 
north  of  an  east  and  west  line  dividing 
townships  numbered  twelve  and  thirteen 
nortli,  shall  l)e  the  line  between  the  county 
of  Clark  and  a  county  whicii  may  be  laid  off 
north  of  the  same,  provided,  however.  That 
ail  that  part  of  Clark  County  lying  north  of 
the  bne  last  mentioned  shall  remain  attached 
to  and  be  considered  a  part  of  Clark  County 
until  a  new  county  shall  be  laid  off  north  of 
the  line  as  above  stated.  This  act  shall  bo  in 
force  from  and  after  its  passage. 

JOHX  MESSiyOER, 

Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

PjeerT!  Menaed, 
Speaker  of  the  Senate. 

Approved  by  the  Council  of  Revision, 
March  22, 1819.  Suadkacu  Kond. 


Clark,  at  her  organization,  as  we  have  said, 
embraced  a  large  amount  of  territory.  Fay- 
ette was  formed  in  1821,  partly  from  Clark 
and  Crawford.  In  the  year  1823  Edgar 
County  was  taken  from  Clark,  locating  partly 
the  present  north  line  of  our  county.  In  1830 
Coles  County  was  formed  from  Clark  and 
Edgar.  By  the  forming  of  Coles,  Clark  was 
reduced  to  the  area  contemplated  in  the  orig- 
inal act.  But  at  the  session  of  the  Legisla- 
ture in  1823,  AVilliam  Lowry,  the  represent- 
ative from  Clark  and  Crawford,  procured  the 
passage  of  a  bill,  at  the  solicitation  of  the 
people  of  the  newly  formed  County  of  Ed- 
gar, cutting  off  three  miles  from  the  north 
line  of  Clark  and  adding  the  same  to  Edgar, 
for  the  reason  that  Paris  was  very  apprehen- 
sive of  losing  the  county  seat;  but  by  hav- 
ing this  slice  attached,  it  would  so  centralize 
her  position  as  to  enable  her  to  retain  the 
seat  of  justice. 

The  county  was  named  after  Gen.  George 
Rogers  Clark,  a  gallant  and  meritorious  of- 
ficer of  the  Revolution,  born  in  Albemarle 
Count}',  Virginia,  in  1752,  and  die<l  in  Ken- 
tucky in  1806.  His  campaign  through  the 
Illinois  did  as  much  to  establish  the  freedom 
of  the  colonies  as    any  act  of  the  whole   war. 

Clark  was  the  fifteenth  formed  county  in  the 
State.  The  fourteen  older  counties  are  men- 
tioned in  the  first  part  of  this  volume. 

At  an  election  held  in  the  county  on  Mon- 
day, April  2G,  1819,  Joseph  Shaw,  John  Chen- 
oweth  and  Samuel  Ashmore  were  elected 
county  commissioners.  On  the  7th  day  of 
June,  following,  the  first  commissioners' 
court  was  held  at  the  house  of  Charles  Nee- 
ley,  on  Walnut  Prairie,  at  which  William  B. 
Archer  was  appointed  clerk  of  the  court, 
and  William  Lorkard,  treasurer  of  the  county. 

Smith  Shaw,  Thomas  Gill  and  James  Watts, 
the  commissioners  appointed  under  the  act 
I'orming  the  county  to  locate  the  seat  of  jus- 
tice, made  their  report  to  the    cuuit:    Tuat 


238 


HISTORY  OF  CLARK  COUNTY. 


having  proceeded  to  examine  the  different 
situ  itions  in  said  county  of  Chuk,  and  have 
agreed  on  the  following  peace  on  a  parcel  of 
ground  whereon  the  said  seat  of  justice  or 
court  house  shall  be  erected,  situated  on  west 
fraction  No.  15,  Town  ION.,  of  Range  11  W., 
in  the  district  of  lands  offered  for  sale  at 
Vincennes,  given  by  Chester  Fitch,  John 
Chenoweth  and  John  McClure,  containing 
two  hundred  and  two  acres  and  an  half  of 
land,  it  being  the  donation  granted  agreeable 
to  law  by  Chester  Fitch,  to  be  laid  off  by  the 
direction  of  the  said  county  commissioners 
into  town  lots;  and  it  is  to  be  expressly  un- 
derstood that  the  said  Fitch  is  to  be  at  one 
half  of  the  expence  in  maping  and  survey- 
ins;^  said  town;  and  the  said  Fitch  is  to  have 
every  other  lot  in  the  whole  town  equal 
in  quality  and  quantity  reserved  for  the  ben- 
efit of  said  Fitch  and  his  heirs  forever. 
Given  under  our  hands  and  seals  this  6th  day 
of  May,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
nineteen. 

Witnesses.       Signed     SMITH  SHAW    [l.  s.] 
Charms  Neely.  THOS.  GILL         [l.  s.] 

John  Essret.  JAMES  WATTS    [l.  s.] 

Very  few  people,  except  surveyors,  under- 
stand the  true  meaning  and  application  of 
the  term,  "  town  and  range,"  as  mentioned 
in  the  foregoing  report,  and  a  brief  expla- 
nation miijht  not  be  uninteresting:.  In  all 
Government  surveys,  "principal  meridians" 
are  first  established,  that  is,  lines  running 
due  north  from  some  designated  point. 
These  lines  are  intersected  by  "  base  lines," 
that  is,  lines  running  west  from  some 
given  point.  The  term  "  range,"  means  town- 
ships numbered  either  east  or  west  of  a  prin- 
cipal meridian  line.  The  term  "town,"  sig- 
nifies townships  numbered  north  or  south  of 
a  base  line.  All  lands  in  our  county  are 
reckoned  from  the  second  principal  meridian, 
a  line  running  due  north  from  the  mouth  of 
Little  Blue  River,  Indiana.     The  correspond- 


ing base  line  commences  at  Diamond  Island, 
in  the  Ohio,  opposite  Indiana,  and  runs  due 
west,  striking  tlie  Mississippi  a  few  miles 
below  St.  Louis.  Our  county  lies  north  of 
the  base  line,  and  west  of  the  praicipil  me- 
ridian. Hence  "town  ten  north,  range 
eleven  west,"  means  the  tenth  township  north 
of  the  base  line  and  the  eleventh  township 
west  of  the  principal  meridian  line;  and  as  a 
congressional  township  is  six  miles  square, 
the  location  of  the  county  seat  was  sixty 
miles  north  of  the  base  line,  and  sixty-six 
miles  west  of  the  principal  meridian  line. 
The  reason  it  was  called  west  fraction  sec- 
tion 15,  the  Wabash  River  divides  the  sec- 
tion, leaving  part  in  Illinois,  the  remainder  in 
Indiana. 

When  the  commissioners'  court  declared 
that  the  seat  of  justice  should  be  known  and 
recognized  as  Aurora,  they  named  a  capital, 
the  realm  of  which  was  larger  than  the  State 
of  Connecticut.  Under  the  auspices  and  guid- 
ance of  Joseph  Shaw,  John  Chenoweth  and 
Samuel  Ashmore,  as  county  commissioners, 
and  William  B.  Archer,  as  clerk,  and  Will- 
iam Lockard,  as  treasurer,  was  the  infant 
county  launched  on  her  career  as  an  independ- 
ent unit  of  this  great  State.  Could  they  but 
briefly  return  from  that  "  bourne  "  and  behold 
from  the  few  and  humble  seeds  they  sowed, 
the  mighty  and  wonderful  growth  of  wealth, 
improvement,  prosperity  and  power,  well 
might  they  exclaim,  in  the  language  of  the 
prophet  of  old:  "  Mine  eyes  have  seen  Thy 
glory,  now  let  Thy  servant  depart  in  peace." 

When  Clark  County  was  organized  she  had 
less  than  nine  hundred  inhabitants.  Now, 
she  has  twenty-five  thousand.  When  they 
named  the  seat  of  justice  Aurora,  there  was 
not  a  town  or  village,  not  even  a  trading  post. 
Now  she  holds  within  her  limits  sixteen  towns 
and  villages.  Then  there  was  but  one  road, 
the  wilderness  being  threaded  by  the  trail  of 
the  hunter  or  the  Indian;  now  her  bosom  is 


HISTORY  OF  CLARK  COUNTY. 


239 


checkered  with  hiL^hwavs,  reaching;  every 
point  within  her  confines.  Her  first  year's 
taxes  were  less  than  one  hundred  and  twenty 
dollars;  now  they  are  over  one  hundred  thou- 
sand. 

About  the  year  1821,  occurred  a  threatened 
government  foreclosure  on  unpaid-1'or  lands, 
that  came  very  near  leading  to  disastrous  re- 
sults, and  forms  an  interesting  episode  in  the 
early  history,  as  well  as  the  entire  West,  but  our 
limited  space  will  not  allow  of  details  in  this 
■work.  All  readers  of  the  early  history  of 
Illinois  are  familiar  with  the  subject. 

We  find  on  July  IG  and  17,  1821,  "Joseph 
Shaw  and  John  Chenoweth,  two  of  the  com- 
missioners, met  at  Aurora  to  take  the  out- 
lines of  the  town,  and  fix  the  main  street  and 
public  square."  No  court  house  was  ever 
erected,  the  courts  being  held  in  a  small  log 
building,  very  low,  and  not  to  exceed  twelve 
by  fourteen  feet,  which  was  afterward 
used  by  Judge  Stoi  kwoll,  as  a  corn-crib,  and 
afterward  as  a  stable.  In  this  small  and 
humble  building,  jurists  of  eminence  presided, 
and  lawyers  of  distinction  practiced,  of  which 
mention  will  be  made  hereafter. 

The  first  sale  of  town  lots  took  place  Au- 
gust 5,  1819,  and  Septer  Patrick  purchased 
the  first  town  lot  ever  sold  in  the  county,  for 
twenty  dollars.  Thirty-seven  lots  were  sold, 
ranging  in  price  from  seventeen  to  three  hun- 
dred dollars.  The  town  improved  as  much  as 
could  have  been  expected,  considering  the 
meager  number  of  inhabitants,that  the  country 
•was  a  wilderness,  that  there  was  no  money, 
no  currency  scarcely,  the  circulating  medium 
being  hides  and  peltry  and  the  limited  prod- 
uce of  the  county,  save  when  an  occasional 
emigrantcame  in,with  a  little  of  surplus  money 
left,  after  locating  his  land.  But  these  visita- 
tions were  few  and  far  between  at  that  daj'. 
There  was  no  market  for  anything,  and  if 
there  had  been  the  people  had  nothing  to  sell. 


so   their    surroundings    were    not    altogether 
cheery. 

The  county  built  a  jail,  a  strong  and  sub- 
stantial structure.  It  was  about  twelve  by_ 
eighteen  feet,  and  two  stories  high.  It  was 
built  of  round  logs,  the  cracks  chinked  and 
daubed.  The  upper  story  was  for  the  im- 
prisonment of  insolvent  debtors,  when  the  in- 
famous code  of  imprisonment  for  debts  dis- 
graced our  statute  books.  It  had  two  barred 
windows,  one  on  each  side,  where  the  un- 
fortunate prisoner  could  sit  and  look  out 
upon  the  sunlight  and  feel  happy  because  he 
was  in  prison.  A  pair  of  rough  stairs  as- 
cended to  a  stout,  wooden  door,  opening  into 
the  debtors'  room;  there  was  no  opening  into 
tlie  lower  room,  where  all  offenders  other 
than  debtors,  were  confined,  from  the  outside, 
except  a  barred  window.  It  was  reached  by 
a  trap  door  from  the  debtors'  room,  through 
which  the  prisoners  were  taken  in  and  out. 
The  inside  of  the  lower  room,  or  cell,  if  such  it 
may  be  called,  was  lined  by  oak  slabs,  securely 
pinned  on  with  wooden  pins;  the  ceiling  was 
covered  in  like  manner.  The  jail  was  built 
liy  Acquilla  Pulteney,  for  seven  hundred  and 
thirteen  dollars.  He  was  paid  notes  on  the 
purchasers  of  town  lots  in  Aurora.  The  com- 
missioners could  afford  to  be  a  little  liberal. 

The  estray  law  at  that  day  made  it  incum- 
bent on  any  taker  up  of  an  estray,  to  bring  it  to 
the  county  seat  at  the  first  circuit  court  after 
such  taking  up,  and  put  it  into  the  estray  pen, 
which  was  a  secure  and  substantial  structure 
to  say  the  least.  It  was  constructed  for  the 
county  by  Col.  Archer,  and  any  one  who 
knew  anything  of  him,  knows  he  never  built 
anything  but  what  was  substantial.  It  was 
thirty  feet  square,  six  feet  high,  posts  eight 
inches  square,  sunk  three  feet  in  the  ground, 
and  of  white  walnut  wood.  If  an  estray  was 
not  claimed  and  proven  in  open  court,  it  was 
put  up  at  auction,  and   if  no  one  bid  above 


240 


HISTORY  OF  CLARK  COUNTY. 


the  lawful  charges  on  the  same,  it  became  the 
property  of  the  taker  up. 

The  county  also  erected  one  of  those  ter- 
^rors  to  evil  doers  and  petty  offenders,  a  "  whip- 
ping post."  It  was  said  to  have  been  a  round 
tree,  stripped  of  the  bark,  and  about  twelve 
inches  in  diameter,  and  sunk  about  two  feet 
in  the  ground.  The  offender  was  tied  face  to 
the  post,  his  arms  encircling  it,  his  feet  fast- 
ened on  either  side,  his  back  bared,  and  the 
stripes  well  laid  on.  It  was  never  used  but 
on  one  occasion;  a  man  named  Whitley  be- 
ing tied  up  and  whipped  for  stealing  hogs. 

Aurora  was  thought  to  be  a  most  eligible 
situation  for  a  town  and  county  seat.  It 
possessed  the  finest  landing  on  the  Wabash, 
which  in  that  day  was  navigable  all  the  year, 
and  for  crafts  of  considerable  size. 

The  town  was  situated  about  two  miles 
north  of  Darwin,  and  its  site  is  marked  only 
by  the  farm  house  of  Oliver  C.  Lawell.  Not 
a  stone  is  left  to  mutely  tell  its  history  or 
existence.  It  but  obeyed  the  eternal  man- 
date that  all  things  earthly  must  pass  away. 

The  people  of  the  county,  believing  that 
the  present  site  of  Darwin  was  a  more  pleas- 
ant location  for  a  town,  and  a  more  central 
point  than  Aurora,  that  it  would  materially  ad- 
vance the  interests  of  the  county,  and  be  more 
convenient  to  the  then  sparsely  settled  coun- 
try, petitioned  for  a  re-location  of  the  seat  of 
justice.  By  an  act  of  the  Legislature,  approved 
January  21,  1833,  the  county  seat  was  ordered 
to  be  removed  to  Darwin,  then  known  as 
McClure's  Bluff.  John  McClure,  who  had 
long  kept  a  ferry  there,  was  the  proprietor  of 
the  land,  and  made  a  donation  on  which  to 
build  the  seat  of  justice.  The  site  was  a 
level  plateau,  above  high  water  mark,  and 
sightly  and  Ijeautiful.  Being  above  the 
stagnant  ponds,  and  the  miasma  arising  from 
them,  it  is,  to-day,  the  healthiest  point  on  the 
Wabash. 

William  Lockard  laid  off  the  town,  and  it 


consisted  of  sixty-four  lots;  numbers  twenty- 
one  and  twenty-eight  were  reserved,  by  the 
commissioners,  on  which  to  erect  a  court 
house  and  jail.  The  sale  of  town  lots  occurred 
on  the  first  Monday  in  August,  ]S33.  The 
purchasers  of  lots  were  to  pay  si.x  per  cent 
of  the  purchase  money  on  day  of  sale,  one- 
third  of  the  remainder  in  nine  months,  the 
other  two-thirds  in  equal  annual  installments. 

John  Chenoweth  was  the  crier  of  the  sale. 
Our  early  settlers  were  evidently  not  teetotal- 
ers and  never  dreamed  of  the  mighty  wave  of 
prohibition,  that,  in  after  years,  would  roll 
across  the  land  from  sea  to  sea,  and  reach  the 
uttermost  points  of  this  great  country.  For 
the  commissioners  enter  the  following 
record:  "  Ordered  by  the  court  that  John 
Richardson  procure  ten  gallons  ol  whisky  to 
be  drunk  on  day  of  sale."  Let  us  of  the 
present  day  imagine  a  board  of  supervisors 
laying  out  a  town  into  lots  for  sale,  and  then 
ordering  the  sheriff  to  procure  ten  gallons  of 
whisky,  to  be  drank  upon  the  occasion,  to 
be  paid  for  out  of  the  people's  money.  Such 
a  storm  of  indignation  would  be  raised  about 
their  ears  that  they  would  be  glad  to  find 
peace  and   oblivion   in   their  political  graves. 

There  were  thirty-four  lots  sold  in  Darwin 
at  the  first  sale,  John  Richardson  being  the 
first  purchaser  of  a  lot,  paying  for  it  the  sum  of 
eighty  dollars.  Lot  thirty-two  was  sold  to  John 
Stafford  for  one  hundred  and  eleven  dollars. 
Lot  sixty- four  was  sold  to  John  Chenoweth 
for  one  hundred  and  three  dollars.  The  low- 
est jirice  paid  for  any  lot  was  thirty  dollars; 
and  these  for  bare,  naked  lots,  in  a  town 
without  a  building  erected.  It  shows  con- 
clusively, that  the  purchasers,  and  they  were 
men  of  sound  judgment,  had  great  confidence 
in  the  future  of  Darwin. 

After  the  removal  of  the  county  seat  to 
Darwin,  part  of  Aurora  was  inclosed  by  a 
fence.  Those  having  purchased  lots  in  Aurora 
were    allowed    credit  on    lots     purchased     in 


HISTORY  OF  CLARK  COUNTY. 


241 


Diirwiii  for  the  amount  for  their  Aurora  lots, 
after  deducting  twenty-five  per  cent  for  the 
first  cost  of  lots,  at  ten  dollars  and  fifty  cents 
for  each  lot  i^ing  within  the  inclosurc,  or 
partly  within,  and  fifty  cents  for  each  lot  lying. 
without  the  inclosure.     Why  this  distinction 

was  made  can  only  be  conjectured.  

/  Darwin  soon  rose  in  importance,  justifying 
the  foresight  of  those  wiio  had  invested. 
Lots  were  in  demand  at  increased  values. 
Buildings  sprang  up,  the  population  increased 
rapidly,  the  various  industries  flourished,  and 
from  a  single  cabin,  that  marked  the  site  of 
McClure's  Bluff,  there  arose  a  thriving,  pros- 
perous village. 

By  her  thrift  and  enterprise  she  laid  under 
tribute  the  country  as  far  west  as  Effingham, 
and  as  far  north  as  Charleston  and  Danville. 
Farmers  wagoned  their  wheat  and  corn,  and 
drove  their  stock  long  distances,  and  ex- 
changed them  for  iron,  salt,  and  other  indis- 
pensable articles  of  frontier  life.  For  five 
years  Darwin  town  lots  were  worth  more  than 
those  of  Chicago.  She  soon  became  a  formid- 
able rival  of  Terre  Haute,  and  caused  that 
town  great  uneasiness  about  her  commercial 
safety.  Her  future  then  gave  brilliant  prom- 
ise of  her  becoming  the  metropolis  of  the 
■-Wabash  valley. 

On  the  4th  of  August,  IS^.j,  the  commis- 
sioners instructed  the  clerk  to  advertise  and 
give  notice  that  the  removing  of  the  jail  and 
estray  pen  from  Aurora  to  Darwin,  would  be 
let  to  the  lowest  bidder  on  the  3d  day  of 
the  following  September  term  of  the  court. 
It  was  afterward  let  to  John  Welsh  who  per- 
formed the  work  according  to  contract.  This 
jail  was  used  until  about  1830,  when  it  was 
destroyed  by  fire. 

The  commissioners  on  the  2d  of  March, 
1824,  ordered  that  projiosals  be  received  on 
the  second  day  of  the  next  circuit  court,  "  for 
erecting  a  house  to  hold  courts  in,"  of  the 
fi  Uowing  description:  "  Twenty-five  feet  long 


in  the  clear,  of  hewn  oak  logs,  with  a  lap 
shir)gle  roof,  two  windows  in  front,  and  one  in 
the  rear;  a  story  and  a  half  high,  a  partition 
up-stairs;  a  small  window  at  each  end  of  said 
house;  plank  iloor  and  rougli  plank  stairs;  the 
windows-  up  stairs  to  contain  six  and  those 
below  twelve  lights  each;  chink  and  plaster 
the  cracks,  and  finish  the  same  in  a  workman- 
like manner.  The  pay  to  be  made  in  the 
notes  of  individuals  who  purchased  lots  in 
Darwin,  in  town  lots  in  Darwin,  or  partly  in 
each."  The  contract  was  let  to  Lucius  Kibby 
for  the  sum  of  six  hundred  dollars.  He 
agreed  to  take  lots  number  forty-nine,  fifty, 
sixt^'-three  and  sixty-four,  at  two  hundred 
and  eighty  dollars,  the  remainder,  three  hun- 
dred and  twenty  dollars  to  be  paid,  one  half 
on  the  first  of  April  next  (1825),  and  the  re- 
mainder when  the  house  is  finished — which 
be  engages  to  complete  in  one  year  from  date. 
He  did  not  finish  the  work  within  the  time 
specified,  nor  was  it  finish-  d  until  March, 
1827,  nearly  two  years  and  a  half  being  spent 
in  its  erection.  The  county  commissioners 
were  the  first  to  occupy  it,  and  held  a  special 
term  of  their  court,  on  the  28th  of  April,  hav- 
ing met  to  examine  the  court  house.  William 
Martin  and  Enoch  Davis,  two  workmen 
mutually  chosen  by  the  commissioners  and 
Lucius  Kibby,  to  ascertain  the  same,  having 
examined  the  house,  reported  that  it  had  not 
been  done  according  to  contract,  and  sixty 
dollars  was  deducted  from  the  amount  origi- 
nally agreed  upon  for  erecting  building. 
The  commissioners,  however,  gave  Kibby  an 
extra  allowance  of  nine  dollars  for  putting  in 
a  fire-place,  and  an  additional  window  up- 
stairs. 

In  September,  1832,  the  court  house  was 
weather  boarded,  and  otherwise  repaired,  and 
rendered  a  very  comfortable  building  for  the 
period.  A  Presbyterian  minister  named 
Enoch  Bouton,  lived  up-stairs  and  held  serv- 
ices below.     The  hall  of  justice  answered  a 


243 


HISTORY   OF  CLARK  COUNTY. 


variety  of  purposes,  and  was  kept  in  constant 
service.  The  court  house  was  situated  on  lot 
twenty-eight,  and  is  still  standing,  and  used 
as  a  stable  by  Doctor  Pierce. 

On  Wednesday,  December  5,  A.  D.  1833, 
at  a  meeting  of  the  county  coraniissioners, 
it  was  ordered  that  a  new  jail  be  built.  On 
the  5th  of  January,  1833,  the  coniraissioners 
met  and  offered  to  the  lowest  bidder,  Mechom 
Main,  junior,  the  contract  for  building  the 
new  jail,  for  which  ho  was  to  receive  the  sum 
of  four  hundred  and  ninety-five  dollars. 

The  glory  and  prosperity  of  Darwin  were 
destined  to  pass  away.  Terre  Haute,  alarmed 
for  her  commercial  safety,  used  every  exertion 
to  wrest  from  Darwin  the  trade  she  had  earned. 
The  National  Road,  that  great  thoroughfare 
from  Wheeling,  Va.,  to  St.  Louis,  was  in 
course  of  construction  and  passed  through 
Terre  Haute,  who  wished  to  secure  the  trade  of 
the  country  west,  while  Darwin  relied  chiefly 
upon  the  river  for  prosperity.  Terre  Haute 
was  independent  without  it. 

The  opening  of  the  National  Road  through 
the  county  in  1834  greatly  increased  the  fa- 
cilities for  travel  and  transportation,  and  the 
agricultural  interests  of  the  county,  along  its 
line,  were  very  largely  stimulated.  The  de- 
velopment of  villages  along  and  in  the  sev- 
eral townships  contiguous  to  the  then  great 
thoroughfare,  was  very  rajsid. 

The  people  soon  began  to  feel  that  the  seat 
of  justice  at  Darwin,  where  they  were  com- 
pelled to  go  for  the  transaction  of  all  public 
business,  was  too  remote  and  isolated,  and 
was  not  at  all  situated  with  reference  to  the 
wants  and  convenience  of  the  then  present 
and  future  population.  The  northern  section 
also  began  to  receive  an  influx  of  immigrants, 
and  they,  feeling  and  appreciating  the  incon- 
venience, joined  in  the  clamor  lor  the  relo- 
c.ition  of  the  county  seat.  The  proposition 
was  vigorously  and  loudly  opposed  by  the 
southern   portion  of  the    county.      Meetings 


were  held  for  and  against  the  propos.tion, 
and  the  excitement  ran  high.  The  merits  of 
geographical  and  population  centers  were 
loudly  and  vigorously  discussed. 

In  the  fall  of  1835  a  petition  for  county 
seat  removal,  and  remonstrance  against,  were 
industriously  circulated  through  the  county, 
the  two  receiving  the  signatures  of  nearly 
all  the  county  voters,  the  removal  petition 
having  a  decided  majority.  These  memori- 
als were  presented  to  the  Legislature  at  its 
session  of  1835-6,  which  body,  in  pursuance 
of  the  majority  petition,  passed  an  act  sub- 
mitting the  question  to  a  vote  of  the  people. 

The  commissioners  were  all  eminent.  Gen. 
Thornton  being  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
men  in  the  State.  However,  they  failed  to 
locate  the  seat  of  justice,  being  unable  to 
agree  upon  any  given  site,  and  so  reported  to 
the  county  commissioners. 

In  1836  another  petition  and  remonstrance 
were  circulated,  though  not  attended  with 
the  same  excitement  and  acrimony  that  c  lar- 
acterized  the  former  year.  These  were  pre- 
sented to  the  Legislature,  which  body,  in 
order  to  forever  settle  the  vexed  question, 
passed  another  act,  which  became  a  law  in 
March,  1837,  submitting  the  question  to  the 
people.  The  election  came  off  unattended 
with  the  usual  fierceness  and  excitement,  for 
it  was  evident  that  a  majority  of  the  people 
favored  removal,  though  the  opposition  to  the 
proposition  made  a  vigorous  and  gallant 
campaign.     The  result  was  as  follows: 

Precincts.                     For  rfmoval.  Against. 

East   Union o'J 55 

West    Union 4 'i 

Dubois,  Cont.  Darwin...       6 138 

Washington 164 , 31 

Cumberland   91 2 

Richland 64 0 

378  3;i8 

Majority  for,  150. 
But  after  the  county  seat  removal  question 


m 


C^^W-  "  if  ^^.ii;:^^^^,^^^^.-^ 


HISTORY  OF  CLARK  COUNTY. 


245 


was  settled,  the  more  exciting  and  more  mo- 
mentous one  arose,  to  wiiich  point  should  it 
be  removed — Auburn  or  Marshall — they  be- 
ing  the  only  eligible  sites.  Then  occurred, 
from  May  to  August,  lSo~,  a  brief,  but  one 
of  the  most  bitter  and  exciting  election  con- 
tests ever  in  the  county;  one  that  was  char- 
acterized by  scathing  jiorsoiial  detraction 
and  abuse.  There  were  no  newspapers  in 
the  county  in  that  day,  and  hence  the  matter 
could  not  be  argued  through  those  great  dis- 
seminators of  information.  There  were  no 
politics  in  the  question,  and  it  became  one 
merely  of  geographical  location  between 
the  contestants,  and  one  of  personal  and  pri- 
vate interest.  Meetings  were  held  all  over 
the  county,  which  were  largely  attended  by 
the  people,  to  hear  the  merits  of  the  two 
places  discussed  by  haranguing  orators.  The 
only  way  of  electioneering  was  to  praise  one 
place  and  denounce  the  other.  Much  that 
was  bitter  and  acrimonious  was  said  for  and 
against  the  contesting  points.  Wordy  doc- 
uments were  widely  circulated,  influencing 
the  public  mind.  Vituperation  and  ridicule 
were  indulged  in  freely,  and  so  fierce  anil 
caustic  was  the  fight,  that  the  activity  and 
bitterness  of  a  present  day  political  cam- 
paign would  be  moderation  and  mildness, 
compared  with  it.  It  was  the  all-absorbing 
topic — overshadowed  and  swallowed  up  every- 
thing else.  The  gathering  of  the  people  from 
different  sections  at  the  mills,  on  grinding 
days,  in  the  small  towns,  at  the  blacksmith 
shops,  and  even  at  church  meetings,  was  the 
signal  for  fierce  discussions  and  clash  of  opin- 
ions. And  in  several  instances  where  the 
respective  merits  of  the  two  places  could  not 
be  settled  by  argument  and  controversy,  the 
matter  was  arbitrated  by  rough  and  tumble 
;  fights.  It  is  related  that  before  the  com- 
mencement of  hostilities  in  some  of  the  en- 
I  gagements,  it  was  stipulated  that  the  de- 
\  feated   should  vote    at   the    dictation    of   the 


victor;  and  one  brawny  Hercules  is  said  to 
have  converted  to  Auburn  three  contuma- 
cious men  whose  predilections  were  for  Mar- 
shall, his  missionary  efforts  being  attended 
with  only  the  loss  of  a  few  teeth  and  a  por- 
tion of  his  scalp.  It  was  a  vigorous  but  con- 
vincing way  of  electioneering. 

The  day  at  last  arrived,  the  contest  closed, 
and  the  votes  gave  tlie  following  result: 

Precincts.  Marshall.  Auburn. 

East  Union 63 7'Z 

Cumberland 4 123 

West  Un  ion    5 42 

Richland I't 57 

Dubois ....l-tl 27 

Washington 221 41 

Total       453  362 

3G2 

Marshall's  majority  Ul 

Had  it  not  been  for  the  decided  majorities 
in  Washington  and  Dubois  Precincts,  the 
two  then  embracing  nearly  one-half  of  the 
county  and  its  voting  population,  the  whole 
current  of  our  county  history  might  have  been 
changed. 

Marshall  had  been  selected  by  the  people 
as  their  county  capital,  with  every  indication 
of  its  ever  so  remaining.  The  town  was  laid 
out,  October  3,  1835,  by  the  proprietors.  Col. 
W.  B.  Archer,  and  Joseph  Duncan,  after- 
ward Governor  and  United  States  Senator, 
on  the  south  half  of  section  thirteen,  and 
the  northwest  quarter  of  section  twenty- 
four,  township  eleven  north,  range  twelve 
west,  the  dividing  line  of  the  sections  pass- 
ino-  through  the  courthouse,  and  was  named 
in  honor  of  John  Marshall,  the  most  eminent 
chief  justice  that  ever  adorned  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  country.  The  proprietors  made 
liberal  and  munificent  donations  of  land  and 
lots  in  perpetuity  to  the  county,  for  court 
house,  jail  and  other  purposes. 

The  county  seat  was  removed  to  Marshall  in 


24(J 


HISTORY  OF  CLARK  LOUXTY. 


June,  1838.  The  present  court  house  was  not 
completed  until  the  following  year.  The  first 
jail,  a  log  one,  stood  on  the  lot  on  which  Mrs. 
Hannah  Patten  resides.  The  first  court  was 
held  in  a  i'rame  building,  its  site  marked  by 
the  residence  of  Mrs.  Sarah  A.  Lawrence. 
Succeeding  courts,  until  the  completion  of 
court  house,  were  held  in  a  building  on  south 
side  of  square,  near  the  old  Sutton  homestead. 

The  county  seat  question  like  Banquo's 
ghost,  "  would  not  down."  The  corpse  laid 
in  its  grave  but  a  year  or  two,  until  the 
skeleton  was  dragged  forth,  clothed  with  spe- 
cious argument  and  held  up  to  the  view  of 
pul)lic  opinion.  The  agitation  of  the  question 
then  began.  At  first  it  had  but  few  followers 
or  advocates;  but  these  were  earnest  and 
tireless  and  kept  the  question  continually  be- 
fore the  people.  And  as  the  western  portion 
of  the  county  became  more  populous,  the 
matter  assumed  definite  shape.  Again  was 
the  old  question  of  geographical  centers  dis- 
cussed, and  for  some  time  the  contest  was 
warmer  and  far  more  bitter  if  possible,  than 
in  the  removal  from  Darwin. 

Thus  matters  stood  until  the  summer  of 
1848,  when  petitions  were  widely  circulated 
and  largely  signed,  memirializing  the  Leo-is- 
lature,  for  a  re-location  of  the  county  seat. 
That  body  enacted  a  law  at  its  next  session, 
again  submitting  the  question  to  the  vote  of  the 
])eople.  The  campaign  was  short,  sharp  and 
bitter,  and  on  the  third  Monday  in  May,  1849, 
the  contesting  parties  rallied  their  forces,  and 
the  battle  was  fought  with  the  following  re- 
sult: 

Precincts.  For  Marshall.  Against 

Darwin 161 20 

Clear  Creek 99 00 

Mill  Creek 34 13 

York TO 46 

Auburn 39 83 

Cumberland GO 43 

Martinsville 14 136 

Richland 47 137 


Johnson g 65 

Melrose H g() 

Livingston , 104 28 

JIarsliall 19-1. 2 


Total       771 
640 


640 


]\rarshall's  majority  131 

Thus   ended    a   memorable    campaign,  the 
last  of  the  kind,  and  one,  it  is  to  be    hoped 
which  forever  settled  the  county  seat  location. 
In  England,  about  A.  D.  871,  King  Alfred, 
to  prevent  the    rapines  and  disorders  which 
prevailed  in  the  realm,  instituted  a  system  of 
territorial  division,  which  was  the  nearest  ap- 
proach to  our  Americin  county  and  precinct 
system    of  which  history    gives  anv  account, 
and  it  is  not  impossible  but  that  it  contained 
the   first  gern^s  of  the' same.     This    was  the 
division  of  the   kingdom   into  "  tithings,"  an 
Anglo-Saxon  term  equivalent  to  "  ten  things," 
or  groups  of  ten.     Each  tithing  was  the  area 
inhabited    by    ten    contiguous    families,    who 
were  "frank  pledges,"  that  is,  free  pledges  or 
surety  to  the  King  for  each  others'  good  be- 
havior, and  were  bound  to  have  any  offender 
within  their  district  arrested  and  forthcoming. 
One  of  the  principal  inhabitants  of  the  tithing 
was  annually  appointed    to    preside   over  it, 
entitled    tithingman,    or    bead  borougli,  sup- 
posed to  be  the  most  discreet  man  within  it. 
And  it  is  within  the  confines  of  possibility  to 
suppose,  that  from  "tithingman"  through  the 
modifications  and  gradations  of  the  centuries, 
and  our  descent  from   the  parent  stock,  was 
evolved  our  otBce  of  county  commissioner  or 
township  supervisor.     As  ten  families  consti- 
tuted a  tithing,  so  ten  tithings  constituted  a 
hundred,  governed    by    a    high    constable  or 
bailiff;  and  an  indefinite    number  of  families. 
The  shire,  or  county  system,  as  created  by 
Alfred  the  Great,  changed  and  modified  dui- 
ing  the  lapse  of  centuries,  with  its  parish  sub- 
divisions, corresponding  somewhat  to  the  old 


HISTORY  OF  CLAP.K  COUNTY. 


247 


precinct  system,  were  imported  from  Entjland 
by  tlu'  first  settlers  of  Viigiiiia,  and  firmly 
enrjrafted  upon  the  early  statutes,  wliere  it 
still  clings  with  un^'ielding  tenacity,  and  with 
some  modifications,  is  in  full  force  at  the  pres- 
ent day.  When  Illinois  was  organized  as  a 
Virginia  county,  the  same  system  was  par- 
tially introduced  for  its  government,  which 
made  a  strong  and  lasting  impress  upon  the 
early  laws.  It  existed  in  Illinois  intact  while 
she  was  a  Virginia  county;  through  her  sev- 
eral grades  of  territorial  government;  and  as 
a  State,  until  1848,  when  the  first  departure 
was  made.  And  in  twenty-four  counties  the 
system,  substantial!}',  is  still  in  force. 

From  the  organization  of  the  county,  in 
1819,  until  the  year  1S49,  the  management  of 
county  affairs  was  entrusted  to  a  county  com- 
missioners' court,  composed  of  three  members, 
elected  by  the  voters  of  the  county.  This 
court  was  first  created  under  the  legislative 
act  of  March  23,  1819,  though  the  law  was 
amended  and  changed  at  nearly  every  session 
of  the  Legislature,  until  the  adoption  of  the 
Constitution  of  1848.  The  court  held  four 
sessions  each  year,  on  the  first  Mondays  of 
March,  June,  September  and  December,  cor- 
responding almost  exactly  with  the  meetings 
of  our  present  board  of  superv  isors.  It  coul 
sit  six  days,  unless  the  county  business  was 
sooner  transacted.  The  court  had  exclusive 
jurisdiction  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  the 
fiscal  affairs  of  the  county,  regulating  and 
imposing  the  county  tax.  It  appointed  its 
own  clerk,  and  could  remove  him  at  any  time, 
for  sufficient  cause,  and  also  had  the  appoint- 
ment of  county  treasurer,  grand  and  petit 
jurors,  together  with   numerous  other  duties. 

By  the  State  Constitution  of  1848,  the  form 
of  the  county  commissioners'  court  was 
changed.  The  law  provided  for  the  creation 
of  a  county  court,  with  original  jurisdiction  in 
all  probate  matters,  etc.,  and  the  election  of  a 
county  judge,  to   hold    his  office   four   years. 


The  law  further  provided  for  the  election  of 
two  justices  of  the  peace,  in  the  county  at 
large,  in  addition  to  the  number  the  county 
was  entitled  by  law,  whose  jurisdiction  was 
co-extensive  with  the  county,  and  who  should 
sit  with  the  county  judge,  as  a  county  court 
for  the  transaction  of  all  county  business,  and 
in  which  court  the  law  vested  all  the  powers 
and  authority  hitherto  exercised  by  the  county 
commissioners'  court.  The  county  judge  was 
the  presiding  officer,  and  any  two  of  the  court 
constituted  a  quorum.  The  two  members  of 
the  court,  other  than  the  judge,  were  styled 
"Associate  Justices."  This  form  of  county 
government  continued  until  the  adoption  of 
township  organization. 

The  early  subdivisions  of  the  county  are 
somewhat  vague,  as  the  countj'  embraced  so 
large  a  scope  of  country,  that  like  the  maps  of 
the  ancients  the  lines  ran  into  unexplored 
realms.  The  law  of  1819  made  it  obligatory, 
on  the  part  of  the  county  commissioners,  to 
elect  three  justices  of  the  peace  to  lay 
off  the  county  into  election  districts, 
and  upon  the  commissioners  to  divide 
the  county  into  precincts  or  townships. 
The  commissioners  selected  Joseph  Shaw, 
Georo-e    W.    Catron    and    James  W.  Parker. 

D 

They  met  at  the  house  of  Charles  Neelj',  at 
the  head  of  Walnut  Prairie,  April  19,  1819, 
and  proceeded  to  lay  off  the  county  into 
election  districts  according  to  law: 

No.  1.  Beginning  at  the  southeast  corner 
of  the  said  county,  on  the  Wabash  River, 
thence  up  said  river  to  Mill  Creek;  thence  up 
said  creek  to  the  west  boundary  line  of  said 
county,  thence  south  to  the  southwest  corner 
of  said  county,  thence  east  with  the  county 
line  to  the  place  of  beginning. 

No.  2.  Beginning  on  the  Wabash  River  at 
the  mouth  of  Mill  Creek,  thence  up  said  river 
to  the  mouth  of  Kirkendall's  Creek  (now  Big 
Creek),  ti'.ence  up  said  creek  to  the  west 
boundary  of  said  county;  thence  soutli  to  the 


248 


HISTORY   OF  CLARK  COUNTY. 


main  channel  of  Mill  Creek,  thence  down  said 
creek  with  the  "  mianders "  thereof,  to  the 
place  of  beginning. 

No.  3.  Beginning  on  the  Wabash  River  at 
the  mouth  of  Big  or  Kirkendall's  Creek, 
thence  up  the  said  river  to  the  middle  of  the 
tenth  range  of  townships  to  the  north  bound- 
ary of  township  twelve,  thence  west  with  the 
township  line  between  twelve  and  thirteen,  to 
the  county  line,  thence  south  to  Kirkendall's 
Creek,  thence  down  said  creek  with  the 
"  mianders  "  thereof,  to  the  place  of  begin- 
ning. 

No.  4.  Beginning  at  the  middle  of  the 
tenth  range  of  townships  on  the  line  between 
twelve  and  thirteen,  thence  north  to  the  north 
boundary  line  of  said  county,  thence  west  to 
the  northwest  corner  of  said  county,  thence 
south  to  the  township  between  townships 
twelve  and  thirteen,  thence  east  with  said 
township  line  to  the  place  of  beginning.  The 
first  vvas  called  Union,  the  second,  Dubois, 
the  third,  Washington,  and  the  fourth,  Wayne. 
The  three  first  named  townships,  although 
greatly  reduced  in  territory,  retained  their 
names  and  a  portion  of  their  boundaries,  until 
after  the  adoption  of  township  organization. 

By  an  act  of  the  Legislature,  of  1823,  Guy 
W.  Smith,  who  was  a  receiver  of  public  lands, 
at  Palestine,  was  authorized  and  requested  to 
])roeure  and  have  placed  where  the  dividing 
line  between  the  States  of  Indiana  and  Illi- 
nois leaves,  the  nortliwest  bank  of  the  Wa- 
bash, forty-six  miles  due  north  of  Vincennes, 
at  a  mulberry  post  forty  links  from  the 
water's  edge,  a  hewn  stone  of  at  least  five 
feet  in  length  and  fifteen  inches  in  diameter, 
and  cause  the  following  inscriptions  to  be 
made  thereon,  namely:  on  the  east  "Indiana;" 
on  the  west,  "  Illinois;"  on  the  north;  "  159 
miles  and  forty-six  links  to  Lake  Jlichigan." 
He  was  to  receive  therefor  any  sum  not  ex- 
ceeding one  hundred  dollars. 

At  the  June  term,  1S:20,  of  the  commission- 


ers' court,  a  petition  was  filed  by  sundry  per- 
sons of  the  County  of  Clark  and  State  of 
Illinois,  praying  for  a  new  township  to  be 
composed  partly  of  Wayne  and  Washington 
townships.  The  court  granted  the  petition 
and  named  the  township  "  Pike." 

The  formation  of  Edgar  County,  in  1823, 
extinguished  Wayne  township,  and  part  of 
Pike.  The  commissioners  ordered  that  Wash- 
ington township  include  all  the  county  north 
of  Big  Creek.  In  .lune,  1824,  the  boundary 
was  again  changed,  and  the  county  commis- 
sioners ordered  "  that  all  of  this  county  north 
of  the  south  line  of  town  eleven  (11)  north, 
and  all  north  of  Big  Creek,  be  included  in 
Washington  Township.  In  June,  1827,  the 
county  was  again  re-districted  as  follows: 

"  Court  orders  that  all  that  part  of  this 
county,  lying  south  of  Mill  Creek,  be  called 
Union  Township.  Court  establish  Dubois 
Township,  as  heretofore  establisiied.  Court 
order  that  Washington  Township  include  all 
of  this  county  lying  north  of  Dubois  Town- 
ship, and  east  of  the  line  between  range 
twelve  and  thirteen  west.  Court  order  that 
Enibarras  Township  include  all  of  this  county 
lying  north  of  Dubois,  and  west  of  the 
line  between  range  twelve  and  thirteen 
west."  This  line  extending  north,  was  the 
west  line  of  Edgar  County.  The  divisions  so 
remained  until  in  1829,  when  there  were 
some  slight  changes  made  in  their  territorial 
boundaries,  but  not  of  sufficient  importance 
to  notice  here. 

The  law  of  elections  in  that  day,  required 
the  polls  to  be  open  at  eight  and  close  at  six. 
Thirty  minutes'  announcement  before  the 
closing  of  the  polls  was  necessary.  The 
judges,  at  their  option, could  postpone  closing 
the  polls  until  twelve  o'clock  at  night.  Any 
elector  could  vote  for  president  and  vice- 
president  anywliere  in  the  State.  For  State 
senator  and  rejiresentativc,  anywhere  in  the 
district  he  was  entitled  to  vote.     For    countv 


HISTORY  OF  CLARK  COUNTY. 


249 


ofiicers,  at  anj'  voting  place  in  the  county. 
If  he  voted  more  than  once,  the  penalty  was 
a  fine  of  a  hundred  dollars,  to  go  to  the 
county  wherein  the  oft'ense  was  committed. 
There  was  no  penalty  of  impiisounient. 
Think  of  that  law  being  in  force  to-day,  in 
some  of  our  large  cities,  or  even  in  our  own 
county!  At  the  first  close  and  exciting 
election,  the  aggregate  vote  would  indicate  a 
population  of  sixty  thousand.  No  naturaliza- 
tion papers  were  required;  all  that  was  neces- 
sary was  a  six  months'  residence  in  the  State 
preceding  the  election.  The  judges  had  the 
power,  for  the  preservation  of  order  and  to 
protect  themselves  from  insult  and  abuse,  to 
fine  any  and  all  riotous  persons,  and  upon 
failure  to  pay,  to  send  them  to  the  county  jail 
not  exceeding  twenty  days.  After  the  clos- 
ing of  the  polls,  one  of  the  poll  books  was 
sealed,  and  to  be  delivered  to  the  county 
clerk  within  four  days  after  the  election,  by 
one  of  the  judges  or  clerks,  to  be  determined 
by  lot,  if  they  could  not  otherwise  agree. 
The  other  poll  book  was  left  with  one  of  the 
judges,  and  kept  open  for  inspection.  Any 
person  ofi"ering  to  vote,  whose  vote  was  chal- 
lenged, merely  had  to  swear  or  affirm  that  he 
had  resided  in  the  State  six  months  immedi- 
ately preceding  the  election  and  had  not 
voted  at  the  election.  No  identifying  and 
corroborating  witnesses  were  required.  Any 
unqualified  person  voting,  was  to  forfeit  not 
more  than  fifty,  nor  less  than  twenty-five  dol- 
lars.  Though  if  the  judges  believed  him  a 
legal  voter,  he  was  not  to  be  fined. 

The  county  remained  thus  divided  until 
Coles  County  was  organized  in  the  winter  of 
1830,  which  extingviished  the  townships  or 
precincts  of  Embarras  and  Hamilton.  In 
March,  1831,  the  commissioners  formed  a 
new  precinct  in  the  northwest  part  of  the 
county,  called  "Richland."  In  1836  a  new 
precinct  was  added,  called  "Cumberland." 
Union    precinct    had    hitherto    been    divided 


into  East  and  West  Union  precincts.  The 
precincts  or  townships  in  the  county  were 
now  named  East  Union,  West  Union,  Dubois, 
Washington,  Richland  and  Cumberland.  In 
March,  1848,  the  county  was  redistricted  by 
the  commissioners  into  twelve  precincts, 
named  as  follows:  East  Union,  or  York,  Du- 
bois or  Darwin,  Clear  Creek,  Livingston, 
Marshall,  Mill  Creek,  Auburn,  Melrose,  Mar- 
tinsville, Richland,  Cumberland  and  Johnson 
precincts. 

These  divisions  remained  unchanged,  with 
the  exception  that  a  new  precinct,  called 
Upper  Marshall  or  Castle  Fin,  was  added, 
until  the  adoption  of  township    organization. 

The  Constitution  of  1848,  for  the  first  time 
in  the  history  of  the  State,  contemplated  and 
recognized  a  departure  from  the  old  and 
time-honored  precinct  system  of  county  gov- 
ernment, and  opened  the  way  for  the  intro- 
duction of  the  present  township  mode  of  gov- 
ernment. The  section  relating  to  the  matter 
is  as  follows:  "The  General  Assembly  shall 
provide,  by  a  general  law,  for  a  township  or